My Serenity
by setarcosjemia
Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles. Rizzles All Rizzoli & Isles characters, set in Firefly AU. Romance/Sci-Fi/Crime
1. Chapter 1 The Doctor Meets the Captain

My Serenity

**Summary:** Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

**Disclaimer**: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

**A/N:** This is one part in an on-going story set in an AU based on the "Verse" from the show _Firefly_ (Fox). It is set in the future where humans inhabit a cluster of planets and moons that form the Alliance. Some planets are technologically advanced while others (mostly border planets on the "outer ring") are more "western" or "oriental," because the settlements are not as developed. This creates a fair mixture of sci-fi and western themes.  
All of the characters are derived from those in _Rizzoli & Isles_ (TNT). Plot elements like the "Alliance," the "Battle of Serenity," the "Independents," and all physical locations described are taken from _Firefly._ While most characters remain mostly true to their _Rizzoli & Isles_ originals, some take on elements of characters from _Firefly._ While it is **not necessary to have seen **_**Firefly**_to read this fic, I would suggest you check it out if you like sci-fi/western themes.

**WARNING**: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

Chapter 1 – The Doctor Meets the Captain

If there was one thing Jane was sure of it was that she had never been more uncomfortable in all her life. That isn't to say that being the fugitive Captain of a Firefly-class starship was all glamour and glitz. It was just that usually the uniform was a bit less, constricting.

Of course, "constricting," hardly seemed to encompass the agony of the corset's sharp ridges pressing into her flesh. Nor did the word do any justice to the torture of the scorching sun beaming down on her skin and radiating through the endless layers of delicate garments.

Sticky beads of sweat to ran down the thick coatings of makeup on her face and spilling down her neck and onto the coarse material of her blouse. She squinted up at the sun, shielding her face with a hand above her eyes. Jane bit her tongue contemplatively, as if trying to remember something.

"What is it Jane?" her partner said, watching her with a furrowed brow. The hot desert sun soaked into the dark skin of his face as he looked back at her.

"Trying to figure out what time it is." Jane said to Frost simply, her gaze wandering over the hazy horizon.

Frost touched his chin knowingly and sized up the angle of the sun. "Not sure, bit after noon, maybe."

"Yeah, but I forget, does Georgia set in the east or the west?" Jane said, looking back at their tracks in the sand. Their footsteps seemed to be winding through the dry brush for miles. How long had they been walking anyway?

"Don't know." Frost said with a shrug, turning back to continue heading into the horizon. "Maybe you should have brought your pocket-watch."

"Not much use…" Jane said shifting the corset forcefully with a grunt. "… besides where would I have put it? This thing doesn't exactly have pockets."

Frost snorted and dodged a vengeful slap from the lanky brunette. "That didn't stop you from hiding a pistol up in that mess." He said, nodding at the outfit with a smirk.

"Look, I don't care if Companions are supposed to be good, upstanding people, and whatever, I don't go _anywhere_ without backup." Jane said, placing a hand on the butt of her gun, which was hidden under the layers of her pale green skirt. She let out small sigh at the reassuring feel of the heavy metal against her hip.

"I thought I was your back-up." Frost said with a laugh.

"You know what I mean." Jane said, peering off into the distance at the shadow of a town on the horizon. "Besides, it's not like they're just going to let you walk right in there. I'll have to go this one alone, Frost."

"You say that all the time, Jane." Frost said frowning at her, "You don't have to take all the risks yourself, you know?"

Jane glanced at her partner out of the corner of her eye and gave him a weak smile. There was an awkward silence. Jane knew what Frost was getting at, but she didn't want to discuss it. So, instead, she laughed it off.

"What, you want to wear the dress?" Jane said, nudging Frost playfully.

"I don't think I'd pass for a woman, no less a Companion." Frost said with a toothy smile.

Jane glanced down at the ridiculous ensemble she had been attempting to walk in for the past three hours. With so little to work with, the corset seemed to merely press her chest and abdomen even more flat. If she had not been wearing so many other layers of clothing she probably would look even skinnier and lankier than she did in her usual trousers and button-up shirt.

"This better work," Jane scoffed, trying to cover her anxiousness with sarcasm, "because if it doesn't I'm going to kill Ma for convincing me to wear this damn corset!"

* * *

"I do not run a common whore house!" the graying Madame yelled, wielding a shotgun threateningly. "Get your filthy paws off my girls and your ass off my property before I blow a hole in that pretty-boy face of yours!"

A thin, muscular young man with a dirty, unshaven face and white toothy smile backed away from the older woman slowly. He raised his hands defensively and laughed nervously, his dark eyes glimmering with a look of innocence.

"I didn't mean any offense, Ma'am…" he said slowly, calmly, still smiling.

"Of course you didn't." The dark-haired woman retorted, squinting at him menacingly. "You just thought you could waltz in here and make off with one of my girls."

"It wasn't like that." the man tried to explain. "I was just trying to help her."

"Yeah, they all say that." The Madame said, shoving him forcefully, causing him to stumble back onto the ground.

"Hey!" Jane hollered from the porch, "What's going on here?"

"Jane?" the man said with a gulp, looking her up and down in shock.

"Tommy?" Jane nearly yelped, recognizing her brother. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I…?" Tommy said, starring up at her with a look of horror. "What are you doing… in a dress?"

"You know this man?" the Madame said with agitation.

"Yeah." Jane said pinching the bridge of her nose with frustration. "He's my…brother."

_Damn!_ Jane thought to herself angrily, _my cover is blown! Damn it, Tommy, what trouble are you getting yourself into now?_

"Your…brother?" the woman said looking between the two of them. The family resemblance was obvious. They had the same dark, penetrating eyes, the same defined, angular jawlines.

"Yes." The two said in unison.

Tommy finally picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He peered warily at the pistol in the older woman's hand, but her angry gaze had moved to Jane. She eyed the brunette suspiciously, gripping the handle of her gun tight and clenching her teeth.

"I thought you said you had no family." The woman said, swinging the gun around to point at Jane. "You said you had no one, no where to go."

Jane stepped back raising her hands only slightly. She did not dare go for her gun; she was a quick draw, but not that quick. Instead her brain started to fire off rapidly, trying to figure out how to backtrack.

"Emma, I—Well—I—See I…" Jane stumbled over the words and stumbled over the gravel as she scooted instinctively further from the armed woman but closer to her brother. Normally, she would be quick to recover from a setback like this, but all this heat and the restriction of her breathing by the heavy clothes and the corset were all making it very difficult to think.

"Who are you?" Emma said cocking the pistol and aiming it directly between Jane's eyes. "Tell me the truth! Now!"

Then, in a flash of movement Emma went tumbling into the ground as Frost tackled her from behind. Unfortunately, he nor Jane could do anything to stop Emma from pulling the trigger as she fell to the dusty ground. The gun went off as her wrist hit a rock jutting out of the earth.

Jane saw little more than a tiny gleam of light as the bullet sped past her, passing right underneath her outspread arm and just barely missing her side. Over the ringing in her ears from the point-blank shot, she heard her brother grunt behind her as he fell to the ground. Without even thinking Jane leapt for the pistol, while Frost subdued Emma.

"Tommy!" Jane screamed a moment later, spinning around.

Tommy clasped his shoulder, blood seeping from underneath his fingers. His eyes rolled back into his head and his head fell to the earth. He let out a low moan but otherwise didn't move.

"Tommy!" Jane said frantically as she scooped up her brother. Her hand instinctually pressed against the bleeding wound where Tommy's hand now lay limp. Angry, horrified tears spilled from her coffee brown eyes as she screamed at Frost, "Get help! Get someone!"

"I didn't mean to…" Emma mumbled but no one was listening.

Instead Frost was trying to shake some sense into her, "Do you have a doctor here? A nurse? Anyone?"

"We're in the middle of nowhere…" Emma said dazedly, watching in horror as Tommy continued to bleed into his sister's hands.

"You don't have anyone? Someone who cares for the girls?" Frost said holding her by the shoulders, trying to get her to look into his face.

"No…" Emma said, finally turning her head towards him but looking through him rather than at him. "…there's only Maura."

"Who's Maura?" Frost said, trying to catch the woman's eyes.

"She's…" Emma said, blinking at Frost, apparently coming out of the shock, "she's new here… knows a lot about medicine."

"Where is she?" Frost asked.

"Somewhere on the ranch. She keeps to herself. She doesn't really get along with many of the girls." Emma said, frowning.

"I don't care who she is!" Jane yelled frantically, "Just go get her!"

But the commotion on in the front of the ranch had not gone unnoticed by the honey blond. Upon hearing the yelling at the front of the house, Maura had perked her ears up. It was not uncommon for Emma to get quite rough when handling less than polite clientele, but something seemed strange about Emma's tone of voice.

Still, Maura had been reluctant to get up and peek out the window. She preferred to keep to herself and when she had wandered out onto the ranch before it had not been a pleasant experience. Most of the girls watched her nervously, whispering amongst themselves anxiously.

But Maura couldn't blame them for being suspicious of her. She was doing an awfully poor job of passing as a Companion. She had only came to the ranch a few weeks ago and she did not accept any clientele into her quarters. It wasn't that Maura was against the idea; it was just that she had only meant to be in this town for a few days.

Emma had agreed to let her stay for the duration of her recovery from a severe case of bronchitis, seeing as Maura was more than able to pay for room and board. Soon after she recovered, however, Maura found herself treating the girls' many ailments. So many of them were sick, or had old wounds and injuries that had never been properly treated.

In the middle of the desert on a border planet you were hard-pressed to find a doctor, no less medical supplies, so Maura helped out as much as she could. She found it hard to let Emma go on believing that she had no more than a limited knowledge of first aid and triage, but she couldn't afford to blow her cover until she could find a way off this planet.

So, when she heard the gun shot, the dedicated medic came running. She had with her a make-shift first-aid kit and surgical tools and a concentrated, serious expression on her face. Maura was at Tommy's side before Emma or anyone else had the chance to go looking for her. She knelt down, opening her bag and looking the brunette woman steadily in the eye.

"Just keep applying pressure." She said with a reassuring smile. Maura took a bandage from her bag and guided Jane's hand, placing the bandage on the wound. "We need to stop the bleeding."

Jane merely nodded, staring between Maura and the blood now seeping through the clean bandage and onto her fingers again. Her face had gone white as a sheet and her mind blank. Maura's words repeated in her head over and over "Stop the bleeding."

"Sir," Maura said, looking up at Frost, "I'm going to need your help getting him into the house."

Frost merely nodded.

After Maura had wrapped the wound tightly she looked up at Jane. She spoke softly and patiently, placing an encouraging hand on Jane's arm, "Alright, we're going to move him into the house now."

Jane blinked at her for a moment, still in shock. When it finally registered in her brain what Maura had said she nodded and wordlessly helped Frost carry her brother into the house and onto the table in Maura's makeshift doctor's office.

* * *

A few hours later, Maura emerged from her room wiping her hands on a towel and the sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her gown. She let out a tired sigh and Jane looked up from her chair across the hall. The brunette's hands were still stained with blood and she had an exhausted look on her face, dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks pale.

"How is he?" She said anxiously, standing up, fidgeting with her hands.

"He should be fine." Maura said with a nod, "So long as we can keep the wound from getting infected."

"You mean…?" Jane said with a frown. She should feel relieved but she was reluctant to believe that it could be that simple.

"It was a clean shot, through-and-through." Maura explained. "The bullet penetrated his shoulder, passing near the subclavian vein. It did do a lot of damage to the inferior and posterior aspects of the deltoid, but I was able to stop the bleeding and close the wounds."

"What does all that mean?" Jane said stupidly, her brain still not functioning properly.

"It means Tommy is going to be okay." Maura said, placing a caring hand on Jane's shoulder. "You should really get yourself cleaned up." She said gesturing to the brunette's bloodstained dress and hands.

"You're not really a Companion, are you?" Jane said looking at the doctor closely for the first time.

Jane hadn't noticed her when she had arrived on Emma's ranch. The girls had each taken a turn questioning her, most of them looking down at her disapprovingly—though she was taller than many of them—as if she didn't measure up to their standards. Jane had held in a scoffing remark about how they weren't exactly the usual Companion type either, being employed in a brothel like this in the middle of nowhere. But this girl was different—though "girl" was hardly an appropriate description for the honey blond, hazel-eyed beauty standing before her. The Companion with an uncanny knack for medicine had apparently been hidden away, either unaware or unconcerned with Jane's arrival.

And far from looking down at her, Maura looked at her with a warm, honest smile. She touched Jane's arm softly, but only briefly, her eyes practically radiating reassurance. But then Jane stepped back, frowning at her. This woman's sincerity only went as far as her concern for taking care of a patient, because despite what Emma obviously believed, this woman was not who she claimed to be.

When Jane called her out right then and there she expected the doctor to deny Jane's accusation, to come up with some excuse or something. But she didn't. She did not know it yet, but Maura had a horrible time with lying. She had only made it this far because Emma didn't ask too many questions, and the other girls never paid her any mind.

"No, I'm not." Maura said bluntly, her face betraying embarrassment.

Jane's eyes were wide and she looked taken aback. Questions flooded into Jane's mind like they often did when she encountered a mystery. Who is this woman? What is she doing here? Could she have anything to do with the missing persons? She frowned at Maura, studying her closely, her hands on her hips as she watched her with suspicion.

"So if you're not a Companion, what are you doing here on the Ranch?" Jane said, her eyes narrowed.

"I…Well—I…" Maura stuttered.

"I could ask you the same thing." Emma said, interjecting.

"What?" Maura and Jane said simultaneously as they turned to see the Madame pointing at Jane accusingly.

"First, your brother shows up, who you said died eight years ago, and then your…partner…tackles me out of nowhere."

"Your not a Companion?" Maura said looking at Jane with a frown. Her tone was curious but her eyes betrayed a glimmer of disappointment. The mysterious brunette had piqued her interest and she had naively hoped that she had found a kindred soul.

Maura had been very much aware of Jane's arrival earlier that day. It had been a couple hours after mid-day. The sun had still been high in the sky and beaming relentlessly down on the dusty earth. Maura had been hanging the laundry on the line when Jane came stumbling onto the Ranch, looking exhausted and dehydrated.

The doctor had silently wondered where the woman had come from. It was almost as if she had appeared out the haze of the desert heat itself. There was nothing out there for a least a dozen miles and she had no horse or vehicle to speak of. Maura wondered if she could be from town, but she could not recall ever seeing her before.

She had gazed off at the settlement on the horizon, a mile or so off. No, that was mostly filled with drunken men and aging wives. _I certainly would have noticed a woman so young and _… _beautiful_, she had thought to herself.

Maura had watched curiously as Emma had one of the girls get her some water. She had briefly thought about offering her assistance to the woman. Jane was clearly dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion. But the girls had quickly surrounded her as she sat down on the porch and drank heavily from the glass of water Emma offered her.

The Doctor listened from some distance off as Jane told Emma the story of how she had ended up abandoned in the desert. Emma, being the caring, protective woman she was, listened eagerly as she patted a wet cloth to Jane's head. The other girls were not so easily convinced, bombarding the brunette with questions.

Maura had not joined them. Instead she watched as Jane blushed when they drilled her. She did not appear to be very accustomed to this planet's desert atmosphere. That, or her corset was tied tighter than was customary to her because she seemed to be having a difficult time speaking.

Now, standing close to the brunette, Maura could tell from Jane's fidgeting with the layers of the dress and tugging at the corset that she was rather uncomfortable in her current attire. The doctor frowned up at her. Maura knew why she had to pass for a Companion, but why would Jane? She hardly seemed like the type.

It wasn't that Jane was not physically appealing, for Maura noted the defined features of her face, the passionate spark in her eyes, her long bones, muscular arms and flat stomach. No, Jane was definitely stunning. It was just that she did not have the usual physical build or demeanor of the kind of Companion to be found on a wasteland planet like Ezra.

Maura had found it very easy to pass as a Companion at this particular brothel. Her smaller stature, defined musculature and sizable chest made for an appealing figure, especially with the aid of a corset. Her long, dark golden locks and shimmering emerald eyes only helped to convinced Emma that Maura was who she lead her to believe she was. Maura's upbringing and knowledge of the culture also helped her portray the image of a properly "schooled" Companion. She was able to mimic the behavior of a professional—skills many of the girls at the Ranch had never had the chance to study.

Jane, however, had no semblance of professionalism. She not only looked uncomfortable in the getup, but also had seemed rather reluctant to discuss with the other girls any of her "experiences." Maura wondered why she had not seen it earlier, but now it was obvious, this woman was not where she belonged.

"I'll ask you one more time," Emma said, pointing her finger at Jane threateningly. "Who are you and what are you doing on my ranch?"

Emma watched her expectantly. Maura looked between the two of them. She had initially been too distracted by her curiosity about the brunette to be concerned about her own cover being blown. But now she started to wonder why Emma was more concerned about this woman's deceit than Maura's.

"I'm looking for a woman." Jane said, frowning at Maura rather than looking at Emma. It hardly seemed coincidental that this new girl had a story that didn't add up. Could she be the killer?

"Well if you wanted a woman you could have just asked. We're not picky about our clientele here. Can't really afford to be." Emma said with a solemn shake of her head.

Jane blushed wildly, waving her hands frantically. "No, no! That's not what I mean."

Emma sighed sympathetically. "There's no need to be ashamed. We all have needs."

"No!" Jane said rather insistently. "What I mean is, I'm looking for a woman that recently arrived on Ezra, maybe about five or six weeks ago. Rumor has it she was living on this ranch."

Emma frowned thoughtfully. "Well there's Maura here…"

"Who isn't exactly who she seems." Jane said, her hands at her hips and her eyes narrowed. She thought about getting her gun out, but Maura hardly seemed threatening, or even likely to run. Instead she was watching Emma fearfully, as if expecting her to point a pistol at her next.

"Oh, yeah, I know all about that." Emma said with an offhanded tone and a wave of her hand. "She might be a pretty little thing, but she is no Companion."

"What?" Jane and Maura said in unison.

"Then why have you let me stay here?" Maura said with a shocked expression on her face.

"Because I needed a medic." Emma said simply. "Besides, I couldn't exactly turn you out into the desert, could I?"

Maura smiled shyly. Despite her actions earlier, Emma really was a nice old woman. She was almost like a mother to her girls. She protected them fiercely and cared for them in every way she could. Maura didn't know it yet, but she was soon to meet a woman quite like her, one who would remind her so much of Emma that she would often think back to the Madame with fond memories.

"If you're not a Companion, who are you and what are you doing out here?" Jane said, interrupting the warm moment with a tone of suspicion.

"I'm Doctor Maura Isles." She said with a cautious smile and an outstretched hand. Jane did not take it. She simply nodded.

"So you _are_ a doctor then!" Emma said happily.

"Yes, and I'm ever so sorry I had to let you believe otherwise." Maura said blushing.

"It's okay," Emma said with a shrug, "as I said, I didn't really believe it anyway. I just figured you had your reasons for it."

"Is Maura the only new girl you've taken on?" Jane said.

"Well there is one other girl." Emma said, putting her finger to her chin in a contemplative gesture. "She came here a couple weeks before Maura here did. Why? What do you want with her?"

"There's a bounty out on her." Jane said in a low tone. "She's wanted for the disappearance of nearly a dozen people and the murders of three men."

Normally Jane wouldn't reveal her intentions, especially in front a potential suspect, but she was hoping to read something from Maura and Emma's reactions. She highly doubted that Maura was the woman she was looking for. The doctor didn't fit the physical description, nor did she seem capable of overtaking and killing men like those who had been killed.

"Her name is Ashley." Emma said with a doubtful frown. "But I don't think she's who you're looking for. That woman wouldn't hurt a flea."

"What does Ashley look like?" Jane asked.

"Well, she's tall, like you." Emma said with a nod to the brunette, "And very strong—she's very good about helping with the heavy lifting. She has long, blond hair and…"

Emma stopped, noticing Jane's eyes widening. Ashley fit the description perfectly. Jane's memory was flashing back to earlier that day when the crowd of inquisitive girls had surrounded her. She faintly recalled one of them sticking to the edge of the circle. She had had a scar over her right eye, barely noticeable. Why hadn't Jane put that together earlier?

"Where is she?" Jane insisted.

"Why?" Emma said shocked, "Surely you don't think she's the woman you are looking for!"

"Out of all the girls, Ashley is the most capable of overpowering a grown man." Maura stated matter-of-factly.

"Answer the question!" Jane yelled forcefully grabbing Emma. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Emma said, rather startled. "I haven't seen her since your brother tried to run off with her this afternoon."

"She was with Tommy?" Jane said in a wrathful tone.

"Well, at the time I thought that he was stealing her away…" Emma said, seeming doubtful now that this had been the case.

"Where did she go after that?" Jane insisted.

"I don't know." Emma said helplessly.

"She's taken one of the horses and kidnapped a ranch hand." Frost interjected suddenly.

"How far out is she?" Jane said, releasing the old woman and approaching her partner eagerly.

"Don't know." Frost said with a shrug. "My guess is she left as soon as the scuffle with you and Emma happened. If that's true, she's long gone."

"It's nearly sunset." Jane thought out loud. "If she's made it back to the Alliance settlement she won't be able to find a ship headed out until the morning."

"You thinking you can get the crew to track her down?" Frost said, following Jane's line of thought.

"I'll have to ride out there myself to tell them, no radio communication out here." Jane said.

"I only have the two horses." Emma said, looking between the two of them. "And if Ashley took the one…"

"Frost, you stay here and look after Tommy." Jane yelled back as she headed outside for the barn. "I'll bring Serenity back 'round here to pick you guys up in the morning."

"Who's Serenity?" Emma said with a frown.

"That's our ship." Frost said with a proud nod.

"You have a ship, a starship?" Emma said, bewildered.

"Yeah, Firefly class." Frost said, taking Jane's post in the chair across the hall from Maura's room.

"And who is your friend?" Emma said, beating Maura to the question.

"Jane?" Frost said with a laugh, "She's our captain, Captain Jane Rizzoli."

* * *

(To Be Continued)


	2. Chapter 2 Quite the Reputation

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: This chapter is a long one. I tried to skim it down but I really wanted to get all the backstory taken care of before we move on. Don't worry; much more Rizzles is to come. Please review if you like what you read, they totally make my day!

* * *

Chapter 2 – Quite the Reputation

Jane rode as fast as the old mare could tolerate towards the northwest horizon. The journey would take considerably less time than it had on foot. Why they hadn't rode out to the Ranch on horseback Jane couldn't say, except that it seemed like an awful waste of money. And money was not easy to come by when you weren't always on the right side of the law.

Twilight fell over the desert and the air began to grow cool as Jane peered up at the stars. It seemed she would be spending another night on this planet. That would make it Serenity's longest planet stay in nearly six weeks. She was sure Ma, Korsak and the others would be delighted. As for Jane, she would much rather be on the move. She found that when Serenity wasn't up among the stars, she would grow restless and agitated. Jane didn't know why, but she never really felt at home anywhere for too long. It seemed like the only time she felt at peace was when she was aboard her ship.

Just as the lights of the settlement came into view Jane's mind wandered back to all that had happened that day. Running into Tommy sure had been a shock. She hadn't seen her youngest brother in nearly two years. Jane wasn't sure what he had been up to all this time, but she was fairly sure it was nothing good.

Her mother would be thrilled to finally see her baby boy, but not so happy about the condition Jane had returned him in—and it would be Jane's fault she was sure. Angela meant well, but she had the tendency of being overprotective of her children, a propensity that was at odds with all three Rizzoli's lines of work. Because, despite Angela's insistence that he "settle down and get a respectable job," Frankie Rizzoli decided to follow in Jane's footsteps and join her law-skirting, bounty hunting, planet hopping crew. Much to Jane's chagrin this resulted in the single most embarrassing and verbally ferocious Rizzoli family drama anyone had seen yet.

Despite all Jane's protesting and putting her foot down, there was no refusing her mother aboard Serenity. Angela simply packed her things with Frankie and snuck onto the ship. And when Jane had discovered her there was no way—aside from physically dragging her kicking and screaming—of getting rid of her. Instead, Jane just gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. _Grin and bear it, Jane, s_he had thought to herself, _just grin and bear it._

But living in close quarters with her mother was the least of Jane's worries. Between avoiding Alliance cruisers and chasing down wanted criminals, Jane had a lot to keep her distracted. Given the chance Jane would appreciate just sitting at the helm and admiring the view. Because if there was one thing Jane was sure of it was that nothing looked as beautiful as the sea of stars spread out before Serenity's bow.

Of course, the view from down on Ezra wasn't that bad either. As Jane rode on she occasionally glanced up at the vast spread of stars above her. On a planet like this one the cities were few and far between, so the skies were clean and clear, unlike some of the technologically advanced worlds under the Alliance's thumb. Even more delightful was the crisp night air, it sure breathed better than Serenity's stale recycled air.

Her mind wandered back to her younger brother. Jane hoped that he would be okay. She debated whether or not to tell her mother that she had run into him, just in case he didn't make it until they could come back and pick him and Frost up.

Jane shook her head. "Don't think like that." Jane quietly said to herself, "That doctor will take care of him. He'll be okay."

With that her mind wandered back to those penetrating hazel eyes and shining honey blond hair. "Doctor Maura Isles," Jane repeated the name, recalling how Maura had held her hand out so casually, that radiating smile spread across her face. Jane had not shook her hand, but instead opted to nod politely. She had originally debated whether or not to reveal her own identity, considering it's infamous nature and her lingering doubts as to the doctor's intentions. Jane had not yet made up her mind whether she could trust Maura when Emma had interrupted them.

Jane was just entering the outskirts of the settlement when her mind started flooding with questions about the mysterious doctor. What was she doing pretending to be a Companion, and of all places on Emma's Ranch in the middle of nowhere? For that matter, what was an obvious well-to-do doctor doing on a border planet? Surely she had the money to live in a nice Alliance settlement, and she couldn't be with any relief mission since she was traveling alone.

"Janey!" A familiar voice interrupted her ponderings.

"Hello, Ma." Jane said as she climbed off the horse.

"My goodness, Jane! What happened? Are you okay?" Angela said running to her daughter, her eyes on the blood-soaked dress.

"I'm fine Ma!" Jane said in an agitated tone, with only the slightest hint of nervousness evident.

"Who's blood is that?" Angela insisted as Jane tied the horse up, avoiding her mother's eyes. "Oh my God! Is it Barry? Is he okay?"

"No, Ma." Jane said, as her mother followed her into the cargo bay of the ship. Jane still hadn't made up her mind if she was going to tell her mother about what happened. She would have to eventually, but she wished it could wait until the morning, then, maybe, her mother could see for herself that Tommy was going to be okay.

"What happened, Jane?" Korsak and Frankie said looking up from their card game.

"I'm fine!" Jane said irritably.

"It's not hers," Angela said angrily as she swat at her daughter wrathfully, "but she won't tell me who's it is!"

"It's not Frost, is it?" Korsak said anxiously, "I mean, he's okay, right?"

"No, Frost is fine." Jane said glancing sheepishly at her mother, "It's Tommy."

"Tommy?" Frankie and Angela both said in loud unison.

"Before you freak out, Ma, he's going to be okay!" Jane said backing away from Angela's wrathful assault of ferocious slapping.

"But look at you!" Angela nearly screamed, gesturing to the crimson stains down her front. "What happened to him?"

"I told you, Ma, he's going to be okay. Maura—I mean Doctor Isles is taking care of him." Jane said struggling at the strings of the corset behind her back. She really wanted to get the hell out of this dress and back into some trousers.

"A doctor? At Emma's Ranch?" Korsak said curiously.

"Will you stop following me?" Jane yelled over her shoulder at her mother.

"Jane Clem—" Angela started, pointing a threatening finger at her daughter.

"Don't you say it!" Jane said fiercely, returning the gesture.

"You will tell me what happened right this instant!" Angela demanded.

"Help me get this god-damned thing off and I'll tell you whatever the hell you want!" Jane said closing her bunk door behind her mother.

"Janey!" Angela said, aghast, "Watch your language!"

* * *

"How is he doing?" Emma asked, her face laden with worry, her blue eyes shimmering in the candlelight.

"It's too early to tell." Maura said, closing the door quietly behind her and glancing at a snoozing Frost across the hall. "Without a heavy dose of antibiotics there's no way to be sure the wound won't get infected, and I don't have any way of properly sterilizing the bandages aside from boiling water."

There was an uneasy silence. Looking for a change of subject Emma peered at the sleeping man in the corner. "Poor thing," she said, "he's been sitting there diligently ever since that friend of his left. Only dozed off a few minutes ago."

"He must have been hiding out in that heat all day long." Maura said softly, kneeling down to examine Jane's partner in the candlelight.

"What did he say his name was?" Emma whispered.

"Barry Frost." Maura recalled.

With the mention of his name, Frost stirred. Maura poured him some water from the pitcher Emma had handed her. She smiled and handed the glass to the yawning man.

"Thanks." Frost said with a sleepy nod.

"You should really be careful not to get dehydrated in a place like this. There aren't many doctors in this part of the desert." Maura said with a smile.

"Good thing we stumbled upon you then." Frost said, setting the empty glass down.

"It does seem to be that my being here now is quite the coincidence." Maura pondered aloud.

"What do you mean by that?" Frost inquired, straightening up in his chair.

"You say you have a starship, right?" Maura inquired.

"Well, Jane does, yeah. Jane and Korsak." Frost said with a nod. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I've been looking for a ride out of here for quite some time." Maura said, thinking about how she could make this work for her.

"Well, if you want a passage to somewhere it wouldn't exactly be cheap, unless you're headed somewhere near." Frost said.

"Money really isn't an issue." Maura said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Well, then," Frost said with a raise of his brow, "where are you headed?"

"That's the thing; I'm not really headed anywhere in particular." Maura said, taking the chair next to Frost.

Frost squinted at her suspiciously. His bounty hunter instincts told him not to trust anyone who claimed they had money to lose and no set destination, they always turned out to have ulterior motives. Then again, half the passengers they picked up were shady characters with questionable intentions. Still, the decision wasn't up to him.

"You'll have to talk to Jane. No one boards Serenity without her permission first."

Maura had expected this reply, but was none-the-less disappointed. She had the distinct feeling that Jane did not trust her. At least, it seemed, that distrust was universal, rather than personal. Maura couldn't blame her either. There was still a lot of stress between the border and core planets, still a lot of bitter Independents and those from the Alliance that liked to play dirty. You never knew quite whom you could trust in a post-war climate.

"Lord knows we could use a doctor aboard, though." Frost said encouragingly, seeing Maura's worried look. For some reason there was something about Maura's countenance that made you want to trust her.

* * *

Jane lay awake in her bunk. After enduring an inquisition from her mother and searching—to no avail—for any sign of Ashley and the kidnapped ranch hand, Jane had finally resigned to her bunk. She had been trying to sleep for some time now, but despite how exhausted she was, she found it impossible to sleep. Instead, she stared up at the ceiling, feeling doubtful she would do anything but her usual tossing and turning.

Images tossed back and forth in her mind. The picture of Tommy's blood on her hands suddenly made her feel sick to her stomach. She held her own hands in front of her, feeling the old ache coming back. Jane rubbed her palms, trying to force out the uneasiness settling over her. Somehow, no matter how old the scars on her hands were she could still remember the cuts—almost feel them—as if they had happened yesterday.

She pressed her eyes together tightly, trying to drown out the images of the blades piercing her hands, the sensation of that creep hovering over her. Jane searched her mind frantically for some image to replace it with, something stronger, something happier. Weak recollections of her family laughing together, of Frost and Korsak always beside her, no image she could picture could overshadow that nightmare. No one could save her from her own tortured imagination.

Then she remembered those hazel eyes. The way Maura Isles, a complete stranger, had looked at her with such compassion and patience. Jane had never met anyone who showed any sort of kindness to someone without expecting anything in return, no less offered it to someone they didn't even know. Had Jane been able to trust that Maura really would save her brother simply out of the kindness of her heart, she may have found the experience a refreshing change. Instead, she found herself wandering what the doctor would be expecting in return.

She decided, however, that she would worry about Maura's motives later. At least her brother was back and had some chance of surviving. This thought lessened the weight on her heart, allowing her to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

As it turned out, Serenity was the only passenger ship headed out that morning; meaning that it's crew had the distinct possibility of attracting the attention of one Ashley Tate. Jane couldn't have planned it better herself. So, as the sun rose over the horizon, gleaming brightly on the dusty portholes of the starship, Serenity and her crew lay in waiting.

Korsak had gone into town at the crack of dawn, looking for anyone who may be on their way out of the Georgia system. He kept an eye out for the tall, stocky blond Jane had described, noting any facial scars. The wanted ad had not included much of a physical description of the suspect, but the aged war veteran trusted Jane's instinct. The brunette had quite the knack for catching criminals. He even went so far as to admiringly call her "Detective" whenever she made a particularly astute connection.

Frankie had also gone into town, but with quite a different aim. Jane had sent him off not long after she woke (nudging him awake forcefully with the heel of her boot) with a list of items to pick up. Serenity was in desperate need of new parts, especially those for the two engines, which were—as they always seemed to be—on their last legs.

Added to Jane's list was an assortment of goods her mother had requested, or rather demanded, for the ship's food and water supplies. Since it was Angela who had taken on the responsibility of stocking, cooking and preparing the crew's meals, she could be found in her usual place in the canteen. She was preparing the common area for new "guests," as she lovingly called the passengers they took aboard. As she picked up the discarded jackets, boots and food-crusted plates, she shook her head, wondering where she had ever gone wrong. Hadn't she taught her children any manners or common courtesy?

The oldest Rizzoli sibling was hidden away on the bridge. If anyone had asked, she would have told them she was trying to avoid being spotted by Ashley Tate and ruin the trap they had laid for her. But anyone who knew Jane at all could guess she was hiding from her mother just as much. The middle-aged woman had a very strong mother instinct and the tendency of being far too nosey for her own good—characteristics that weren't exactly helpful on a ship full of bounty hunters, criminals and passers-through.

So, rather than deal with the nagging questions of her mother, Jane sat at the helm, leaning back in the pilot's chair. Her mud-crusted boots were propped up on the dashboard and her fingers were interlaced behind her hair as she cocked her head back and looked out at the wispy clouds outside. Had Jane not been so suddenly overcome with restlessness she may have drifted off right then and there.

But Jane was rarely content to sit still for long. So, instead, she quickly got to her feet. Unfortunately, with nothing to do she simply started pacing back and forth. She took a silver pocket watch from her breast pocket and squinted at it pensively. It was nearly nine—or at least she thought it was, she was never very consistent about setting her watch to local time.

Whatever time it may be, Jane figured she still had quite a while before they were due to take off. She sat down again, drumming her fingers on the command console. After a while she sat up straight, searching her pockets. Eventually she pulled a battered piece of paper from her vest pocket along with a blunt piece of graphite. She unfolded the aged paper carefully and scanned it with a determined expression.

"There you are!" Angela said, suddenly appearing behind her.

"Ma!" Jane said jumping out of her chair and nearly out of her skin. Quickly she folded the paper and stuffed it into her trouser pocket. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Angela said, frowning at her suspiciously. "Why didn't you come up for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry, Ma." Jane mumbled. Really she was just sick of the gruel they had been eating for the past month.

Angela put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at her daughter with disbelief. Jane avoided her mother's gaze. Instead she stared at the command console, fidgeting with one of the dials. Angela sighed and opted to leave it alone, something she rarely did, but she had the feeling that Jane was bothered by something she spoke about with no one—save for Sergeant Korsak—and whenever Angela had tried to ask her about it before it had only resulted in Jane distancing herself even more from her.

"Oh!" Angela said so suddenly that it made Jane jump for a second time, "We have a new passenger already!"

"Ma!" Jane said grasping her mother by the shoulders, "I told you not to let anyone on board before Korsak had a chance to check them out!"

Angela frowned at her and stepped back defensively. "Jane! Ashley wouldn't harm a fly." Angela said with a half judging, half reassuring pat to Jane's arm. "She's the sweetest woman you'll ever meet. Look! She gave me these beautiful little desert flowers."

The brunette's eyes widened first to the recognition of Ashley Tate's calling card, then to the sudden realization that Ashley was standing in the doorway. Instinctively Jane reached for her pistol, but was stopped short by the blond raising her own gun.

"So this is the infamous Captain Jane Rizzoli?" Ashley said with a crooked grin and a menacing look in her eyes. "I heard you've been looking for me."

* * *

Maura awoke well after the sun had risen. Usually she was an early riser, getting up at the crack of dawn every day, but today she did not wake until the sunlight peeked in at her through the window. She yawned and sat up sleepily, blinking in the bright morning light.

"Oh shoot!" she said tossing off the covers as she realized she had slept longer than she had intended. She had a lot to do that morning before Jane returned, at which time she hoped to be able to convince the Captain to let her join her crew.

She quickly dressed and brushed her hair, and packed her things. Maura was a highly organized person, so sorting through her belongings did not take very long. Next she decided she would check on her patient, though it had only been a few hours since she had left him on the cot in the next room.

She looked at the chair across the hall, but Frost was gone. For a moment her heart stopped, worried that Jane had already returned and left without a word. But when she quietly cracked the door and glanced inside Tommy was still very much asleep on the other side of the small spare room.

Her heart lightened a bit. She did not know Jane at all, but she doubted she would leave her brother behind. In fact, from the tortured look on the brunette's face Maura judged it had been very hard for her to even leave him here for one night. Jane may have originally come off as distant and untrusting but Maura already had the suspicion that this was only because she was very protective of her family members.

Maura had been sitting at Tommy's side for a few minutes, idly thinking about the dark-haired, brown-eyed Captain when her patient stirred. He attempted to roll onto his side but groaned immediately. Rather than turn over he opened his eyes and turned his head to sleepily grin at the doctor.

"Surely I have died and gone to heaven." Tommy said with his best irresistible smile.

"No." Maura said matter-of-factly. "You are very much alive. Your cardiopulmonary and nervous systems are functioning regularly."

Tommy laughed, regretting it immediately as it brought new pain to his shoulder. After gritting his teeth for a moment, he continued, reaching his hand out to gesture towards her. "No, I mean, you are quite the sight to wake up to. You look like an angel with the sunlight shining in your hair like a halo."

Maura smiled politely and lowered his arm to the bed, "That's very nice of you to say, despite the fact that angels are fictional beings with little to no basis on real creatures, but you should really rest. You need to heal. Space travel can make the recovery process very difficult."

"I'm sure to do just fine with you treating me Doctor…?" Tommy said with a flirtatious grin.

"Isles. Doctor Maura Isles." Maura said with a smile and a nod.

* * *

"I see my reputation proceeds me." Jane said with a daring grin, moving in front of her mother protectively, her hand still hovering over the butt of her pistol.

"I have to say, they don't exaggerate when they call you a ferocious beauty." Tate said with an appreciative raise of her eyebrow.

"Well, they weren't lying when they described you as a murderous sack of crazy." Jane said, holding her mother forcefully behind her with one arm.

Ashley simply cackled. Jane knew her type; she enjoyed the banter. Try to appeal to her and it got you nowhere, try to diagnose her and she would mess with your head. But if you were honest with her you may just entertain her long enough to gain an edge. Jane knew someone very much like her, someone way more deadly, way more disturbed, someone who had given her the scars she tried very difficult not to touch in her nervousness.

After a moment of silence between them Ashley suddenly pointed her gun between Jane's eyes, cocking the pistol. "It would be so easy to just blow a hole in your brain, make the life flicker from your eyes in a nano-second." She said in a casual tone.

"Then why don't you?" Jane said, narrowing her eyes at the blond. Her mother made some protest behind her, but Jane held her in place. There was no way she was letting any other members of her family get shot.

Ashley sighed disappointedly, "Unfortunately, he left specific instructions to leave you for him."

"Who are you talking about? Hoyt?" Jane demanded. She had not wanted to believe it was possible but it appeared that Ashley was following in the teachings of that deranged mad-man.

"I see he left his calling card with you." Tate said, gesturing to her scars. "He helped me develop my own you know."

"I honestly doubt that." Jane said narrowing her eyes at her. "Poisonous flowers are hardly the kind of calling card Hoyt would deem worth the effort."

"Poisonous?" Angela said suddenly, dropping them to the floor.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Rizzoli," Ashley said nonchalantly, "if I had given you the poisonous type you would have died long before I convinced you to let me on this ship."

"You…?" Angela said dumbfounded, unable to come up with any intelligible response.

"That doesn't mean I can't kill you now, though." Ashley said pointing the pistol at a now exposed Angela.

"No!" Jane yelled, stepping in front of her mother again.

Miraculously, just at that very moment Korsak appeared out of nowhere and attempted to raise his gun to Ashley's head. Ashley noticed, however, and started to spin around. This distraction allowed Jane to lunge at Ashley's gun wielding hand. This caused her to jerk back, the gun to falling to the ground. Unfortunately, the blond did have the chance to spin kick her surprise assailant. Korsak had barely enough time to jump back, but inevitably lost his balance and fell over.

Ashley, continued to spin around, causing Jane's wrist to twist and her grip on Ashley's arm to slip. In one sweeping move the blond spun all the way around, bringing her hand up in a fist. When her knuckles made contact with Jane's nose it the cartilage gave, causing a searing wave of pain and a loud cracking sound in the brunette's head.

The blond dived to the floor for her gun. Despite the horrible pain and the inability to focus her eyes properly, Jane was still able to draw as quick as ever. Before Ashley could even raise her gun Jane had cocked hers and pointed it between her shocked eyes.

"_No one_ threatens my family!" Jane said, her brown eyes sparking with rage and her jaw clenched fiercely.

* * *

Despite the ruckus that happened with capturing Ashley Tate, the Serenity crew was still able to keep their promise of returning to Emma's Ranch while it was still technically morning. The Firefly class ship was just setting down some distance from the barn when the sun had nearly reached its peak directly overhead. The dust continued to swirl in frantic puffs even after the engines had been cut and the cargo bay door opened and settled onto the dry earth.

Out strolled a rather content looking Jane. She was dressed in an old pair of light brown trousers, held up by equally worn-out suspenders, and a dusty crimson button-up long-sleeved shirt. Her long, dark hair was down seeing as she found the weather a whole lot more comfortable in her usual attire. She wore dark leather cowboy boots, crusted with dirt, and a matching hat, studded with blemished coins.

By this point Maura had already gone out to the barn to greet the crew but had stopped short some ways off, watching as they exited the ship and blinked into the desert sun. The honey blond didn't pay much mind to the others, finding the Captain strangely fascinating.

The brunette had an oddly alluring air about her. As Jane approached her, Maura found herself wondering just who this woman was. Earlier that day, after she had attended to Tommy, Maura had heard some of the girls talking about a famous bounty hunter they called "Captain Jane." The doctor's ears had instantly perked up at the mention of the brunette's name. Maura was eager to learn more about her. But the girls did not have much to say aside from gossip.

Apparently, "Captain Jane" was as much a legend as she was a mystery. Little was known about her except that she had received her title fighting on the Independent's side in the war. She apparently had gone missing after the Battle of Serenity and had been presumed dead. Then, several years later, she showed up on Persephone where she got into some trouble with the Alliance. Afterward she was only ever spotted on the move or collecting bounties. The only reason anyone had ever heard of her in the first place was because she was said to be the best bounty hunter in the Verse. Word had it she had never been hired for a job she didn't complete.

Maura watched Jane amble over, not really sure she could believe everything she had heard about her. Jane didn't seem "vengeful and untamed" to her, nor could she imagine that she could "leave catastrophe in her wake." But the doctor was soon to learn just why the Captain had earned such a notorious reputation.

Jane noticed the doctor watching her almost immediately. She was used to people keeping a close eye on her; being warily surveyed came with the job. What she wasn't used to was being watched with such unfettered curiosity. Jane was reminded of the way a child might study an animal she had never encountered before, could barely even imagine possible.

As she approached Jane studied the doctor too, but far more subtly. Yesterday Maura had been a skirt, low-cut blouse and a tight fitting corset. Aside from the lack of exaggerated makeup, Jane may not have been able to tell her from the other girls—except for those piercing hazel eyes. Today, however, Maura was dressed in more casual clothing. She wore a long spring green skirt that flowed over her hips and spilled in layers around her legs. Her blouse was white and adorned with furls and a light green pattern of some kind. Her honey blond hair was held up in a ponytail by a matching green ribbon and on her exposed neck was a silver necklace with a small emerald jewel.

"Nice to see you again, Doctor." Jane said with a beaming smile as she reached out a hand to shake Maura's.

"Please, call me Maura." Doctor Isles said warmly, shaking Jane's hand.

"Jane Rizzoli." Jane said, her face stiffening with seriousness, as if she had suddenly remembered the reason for her visit. "How's my brother?"

"He's doing well, actually." Maura said, squinting at Jane pensively, studying her face closely.

"What is it?" Jane said frowning at her.

"Hairline fracture, the nasal bone above the lateral nasal cartilage." Maura said, gesturing to Jane's broken nose.

"Huh?" Jane said, frowning at her and putting her hand to her nose.

"I can fix that for you." Maura said, taking a step closer and reaching cautiously for Jane's face. "But it might hurt a little."

Maura waited, her hand hovering between them. Jane's eyes narrowed, trying to judge the doctor's intentions. She looked into Maura's hazel eyes. The doctor seemed sincere enough and Jane really didn't want to add a crooked nose to her list of defining features.

After a moment she nodded her consent but said nothing. Maura delicately placed her finger and thumb on Jane's chin, turning her head gently to the left and then to the right. The gesture was innocent enough, but Jane had not been anticipating it. The doctor suddenly felt much nearer to her than she had just a moment ago. She found herself staring off into the distance, uncomfortable with how meticulously Maura was studying her face.

Then, all of a sudden, Maura reached up with her other hand and forcefully snapped the bone back into place, causing Jane to let out a surprised grunt. She stumbled back, reaching for her face instinctively. Jane looked at the doctor in disbelief.

"OW!" Jane said holding the bridge of her nose gingerly. "Might hurt _at little_?"

"You should really put some ice on that." Maura said, ignoring Jane's complaint. "To reduce the swelling."

"Oh, I'll get right on that!" Jane said, gesturing around her mockingly. "There's so much ice out here in the desert after all."

Maura frowned at her. The doctor was not accustomed to sarcasm. She wondered for a moment if the brunette might be far less intelligent than she had originally judged her to be. That seemed highly unlikely.

Still, she responded with her characteristic factoid sharing, "Actually, while the nights on Ezra can often reach temperatures low enough to cause freezing there is a shortage of natural water sources. The likelihood of finding ice anywhere in this region in the middle of the day is mathematically improbable."

Jane simply blinked at her. She wondered for a moment if Maura might be some sort of robot. Surely normal people did not recite facts in such a manner, especially in response to obvious facetiousness. But Jane had yet to learn just how untypical of a woman Maura Isles was.

"Hey, Jane." Tommy said as Frost helped him hobble up to his sister, "Hello, Maura."

"Tommy!" Angela said, calling after him. "Slow down! Are you _trying _to break your stitches?"

"Ma, I'm fine!" Tommy hollered back, looking between Jane and Maura curiously. "So, we headed out then?"

"You must be Doctor Isles!" Angela said as she spotted Maura.

The doctor smiled and turned to Mrs. Rizzoli. "Yes, but you can call me Maura."

"Oh bless your soul!" Angela said, her eyes teary as she wrapped her arms around a very shocked Maura. "Bringing my little boy back to me!"

"Ma, she didn't bring him back, she just patched him up after he went and got himself shot!" Jane said, indignant that she was not madder at her brother for disappearing and not even bothering to write or even explain what he'd been up to since he left.

"Yes," she said offhandedly after she finally released Maura from a tight hug, "but if she hadn't I never would have seen my Tommy again!"

"Well, I only did what I could." Maura said, blushing brightly, more from the hug from a complete stranger than from the praise.

They were quiet for a moment. Angela smiled at Maura admiringly, the doctor watching her warily just in case she may dive in for another hug. Tommy was watching the two of them, all smiles. Jane had her eyes on her mother, worried she was about to do something like what she was about to do.

"So," Angela said genially, "Doctor Isles—"

"Maura." she corrected kindly.

"Maura…" Angela said happily, "are you going to join us?"

"Join you?" Maura said, blinking at Angela with confusion.

"Join us on Serenity." Angela said with a nod.

"What?" Jane said, looking at her mother indignantly. She really didn't appreciate her mother inviting people onto her ship, especially after what had happened just this morning.

"Oh," Angela said, looking puzzled, "Frost said you were looking for passage off of Ezra. I just assumed you planned to go with us."

"We could really use a doctor." Tommy said, nudging at his sister encouragingly.

"And I would be able to pay, of course!" Maura said, glancing nervously at the brunette. She had been worried about asking Jane herself. She was glad Jane's mother had brought it up.

Jane was quiet for a moment as she studied the honey blond with a contemplative look on her face. On the one hand, she barely knew anything about this mysterious doctor, how could she know that she could trust her enough to let her aboard her vessel? On the other hand, they really could use a doctor on board. The crew often got into scuffles and shootouts that resulted in injuries. It would be nice to have an actual medical professional available rather than have to rely on their own first aid skills and the occasional hired surgeon.

Jane smiled, patting her brother on his good shoulder, "I guess we Rizzoli's do have a tendency of getting roughed up. Having a doctor aboard might not be a bad idea after all."

(To Be Continued)


	3. Chapter 3 Meet the Family

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: For those readers who are not familiar with the metric system, Ashley Tate is described as roughly 1.75 meters tall and as weighing 68 – 70 kilograms. This translates to about 5'9'' and between 150 and 160 lbs. I am not very good at judging body mass, so these numbers were a bit of guesswork. What I intended was for Ashley to be roughly Jane's height with a much bulkier build. If these numbers do not reflect that, please excuse my ignorance.

Please review if you like what you read, even short reviews totally make my day!

* * *

Chapter 3 – Meet the Family

Serenity did not come equipped with a brig, so for lack of a better place Jane had tied Ashley Tate to a chair in one of the passenger dorms. Normally Jane would have thought nothing of simply tying a prisoner up and tossing them in the corner of the cargo bay. This time, however, she wasn't confident to simply have Frost or Korsak keep an eye on the bounty. And with an unusual amount of passengers aboard—they had picked up seven including Maura—keeping a dangerous criminal in a fairly common area did not seem wise.

Jane had put off leading the passengers in a tour of the ship in favor of checking on their new captive. Leaving Frost to outline the ship's rules, she headed for the bunk where she had left Korsak to keep watch. When her old partner saw that she had come to take his place he looked more than relieved.

"Careful, Detective," he said in a low but warm tone, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder, "this one will mess with your head."

Jane smiled at the nickname Korsak liked to use for her. "I know a thing or two about head-cases." She said with a sigh. Her tone was jocular but the silver haired man knew all to well the truth to her words.

He gave her a weak smile, patting her shoulder, "I'll be right outside."

Jane nodded solemnly and he left. She looked at Tate, who had been watching them with an intrigued expression. The tall blond grinned at her with a smile that made Jane disgusted and outraged at the same time.

"So," Ashley said, raising an eyebrow, "have you come to interrogate me, _Detective?_"

Jane clenched her jaw and resisted the urge to lunge forward and smack the smartass grin off Ashley's face. Whatever this deranged woman had to say, Jane didn't want to hear it. All she wanted from her was the location of Charles Hoyt. Once she had that she could just as easily throw her out the airlock than bother to turn her in for the reward. Unfortunately, though, if Jane wanted to get anything useful from her, she would have to play along.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Jane said, her voice laden with sarcasm, "are your accommodations not satisfactory?"

"Oh I'm no stranger to bondage Captain Rizzoli." Ashley said suggestively.

Jane faltered only for a moment. It was not the first time a woman had flirted with her, but this woman one was a disturbed serial murderer. Had the woman's implication not disgusted her so much, she might have blushed.

"Well good thing you're comfortable," Jane said narrowing her eyes at her, "because it's going to be a long trip to Persephone, and we aren't exactly taking the direct route."

"How shall we pass the time, then, Captain?" Ashley said, winking at her subtly and caressing Jane's leg with her unbound foot.

That was it. Jane had had enough. Her boot came up, catching the front edge of Ashley's chair, kicking it up and back. The blond hit the floor with a loud clack and a thud. A moment later, Korsak burst into the room.

"What happened?" Korsak said looking between the agitated looking Captain and a dazed looking captive on the floor. "You okay Jane?"

"I'm fine." Jane said with a huff and rolling her shoulders. She nodded her head at Ashley. "She might not be, though."

"What'd you do?" Korsak said accusingly. He knew Jane had probably been provoked, but sometimes he worried about her temper.

"Nothing." Jane said with a shrug. "She fell. I'll get the doctor to get a look at her."

Ashley mumbled something and then her eyes rolled back into her head. Jane couldn't help but laugh to Korsak, who only looked mildly disapproving. For all the violence Ashley was apparently capable of, she sure was subdued easily.

* * *

"Is this how you treat all of your prisoners?" Maura said, turning and looking fiercely at Jane.

Maura had been studying Ashley's pupil reaction with a small flashlight as the brunette looked over the doctor's shoulder. The patient had been propped up again and other than looking a little dizzy she appeared fine to Jane. Maura, however, was acting as if she had been tortured.

"No, just the crazy ones." Jane said, not looking at the doctor, keeping her eyes on Ashley. The woman looked far too happy to be being treated by the honey blond.

Maura stared at her incredulously, "Are you serious?"

"No, of course I'm not serious!" Jane said looking somewhat dumbfounded. Did this woman really not understand sarcasm?

"What ever you did," Maura said, standing up, "she has a concussion."

"What _I_ did?" Jane said, staring at her indignantly. "She just fell over."

"Not with out some help." Ashley grumbled. They both ignored her; they were both too busy staring at each other in outrage.

"Whether this woman has committed crimes or not does not change the fact that she has rights!" Maura said furiously.

"_Rights?_" Jane said, raising her eyebrows and blinking at Maura in disbelief. "This woman is known to have killed three men and has kidnapped nearly a dozen others!"

"That doesn't mean you can abuse her!" Maura said, angrily gesturing to the woman behind her. "The Alliance has laws for the treatment of prisoners."

"The Alliance?" Jane said incredulously. "You think they are going to protect the rights of their citizens? You think they care about any of us out here on the border? No less a lowlife like Ashley Tate?"

Maura was stunned into silence. Her response had merely been instinctual. She was a doctor after all, and her life's work was protecting human life. She kept forgetting that things were different out here on the outer ring. It was out of sight, out of mind as far as the Alliance was concerned.

The two women had been staring at each other in angry silence for some time before Ashley finally interrupted them. "I see now why you were dismissing my advances Rizzoli." She said with a smirk.

"What?" Jane and Maura said in unison.

"She is quite the specimen isn't she?" Ashley said, her eyes pouring over Maura's frame with a look of approval, "I bet she makes the perfect little whore."

The doctor tried to stop her but Jane slapped Tate hard across the face before Maura could do so much as grab Jane's arm.

"Don't you _ever_ speak that way about her!" Jane said, seething with rage. She glanced quickly at Maura, who was staring at her in shock. Jane suddenly felt very self-conscious about her reaction so she quickly added, "No one talks about a member of my crew like that!"

Ashley smiled, sucking on her bruised bottom lip. "Mm, I do like it rough, Captain."

Jane clenched her jaw and stepped towards the prisoner menacingly. Without another moment's hesitation the doctor grabbed Jane by the wrist. Startled at Maura's forcefulness, she let herself be dragged out into the corridor.

"You can't just go around hitting people like that!" Maura said, releasing Jane and turning on her furiously.

"She called you a whore." Jane said simply. She did not know why she so instinctively protected Maura's honor. It certainly wasn't like her to outright hit a prisoner without quite a lot of provocation—despite the fact that her temper made it very difficult not to rough Ashley up.

All Jane knew was that Maura was the most compassionate and understanding person she had ever met and that despite the fact that she had hardly known her for two days she did not like the way Tate talked to her at all. Maura's true identity may still have been a mystery to Jane, but she still had saved her brother's life. She may be a bit too naïve for her own good, but Maura certainly didn't deserve to be called a whore, even if she really had been a Companion.

Maura watched Jane silently for a moment. She was worried about the brunette's violent temper and whether it would be a good idea to join Serenity's crew with a Captain who was so easily provoked. Still, she felt somewhat flattered that a stranger would defend her integrity so aggressively. Maura wished, however, that she had shown this gesture of comradeship in a less severe manner.

"I think she may have old brain injuries." Maura said, deciding, for now, to let the issue of Jane's temper go.

Jane frowned at her, "You mean she's had concussions before?"

Maura nodded, "I also noticed some old bruises on her wrists and neck. I'm guessing you didn't cause those as well?"

"No, I've only encountered her today." Jane said, wondering if Maura really believed she could be that ruthless. "Do you think someone fought back?"

"Perhaps." Maura said with a nod, squinting contemplatively. "You said she works alone, right?"

"She claims to." Jane said, growing curious about Maura's line of thinking.

"I'm not sure she's being honest in that regard." Maura said.

"What makes you think that?" Jane said, a smirk on her face. The Captain had suspected that Ashley may have an accomplice, but she had nothing but her gut to back up her theory.

"Well, Ashley is roughly one and three-fourths meters tall, sixty eight to seventy-three kilograms. That's a sizeable woman but it's very unlikely that she could subdue a man of Tommy's weight and build alone and unarmed." Maura observed.

The way Maura smiled when she mentioned Tommy didn't settle well with Jane, though she couldn't say why. It might have been that while Tommy was her brother, he was still a troublemaker. Jane didn't want this nice, trusting woman getting too attached to someone so likely to break her heart when he decided to up and leave.

"So you think she was after Tommy then?" Jane said pensively, deciding to ignore the reasons why the thought of Maura and her brother made her insides squirm.

"Well he fits the general description of the previous victims: athletic build, mid twenties to early thirties, roughly 75 to 100 kilograms, one and half to—" Maura recited before Jane interrupted her.

"Wait," the brunette said frowning and pointing at her in suspicion, "how do you know about the previous victims?"

Maura looked a little shy when she responded, "I was curious as to what you were up to out here. So when I was talking with Barry this morning I asked him about this Ashley Tate you were after."

"Really?" Jane said eyeing her with a mixed expression of curiosity and agitation, "And Frost just spilled his guts then?"

"I can be very charming when I need to be." Maura said with a smile and flutter of her eyelashes.

Though Jane's expression barely faltered she could not withhold a small gulp. Maura had been completely serious but the look on her face had caused Jane's heart to falter. The brunette blinked and tried to regain herself but she couldn't remember what they had even been talking about.

Maura was not even aware of the affect her words had had on Jane. She simply smiled at her and waited for her to respond. When she did not, Maura started to wonder if she'd done something offensive.

"I'm sorry, should I have not asked Mr. Frost about you?" Maura said apologetically.

"I thought you asked him about Tate?" Jane said, finally finding her voice again.

"Well," Maura said, shyness hinted in her voice again, "that was really only a way of starting the conversation."

Maura was avoiding Jane's eyes, cursing herself for revealing her curiosity. Had she not brought it up she might have skirted the truth. But the fact was that she found Jane captivating; she had such a natural inquisitiveness after all.

"So you know all about me then, huh?" Jane said with a smirk. She could only imagine what Frost had said about her. He had a tendency of telling tall tales about "Captain Rizzoli." She suspected he got a kick out of the way people would spread the rumors around like wildfire.

"Actually," Maura said with only the slightest of pouts on her lips, "he wouldn't say much. Most of what I heard came from the girls at Emma's Ranch."

Jane actually laughed out loud, looking at Maura with an amused expression. She could only imagine what things they must have said. "I wouldn't believe half the things people say about me Doctor Isles."

"Please, call me Maura," she said genially, "Doctor Isles just seems so formal."

"Well, we hardly know each other, Maura." Jane said with a small laugh. "At least, I hardly know _you_."

"What do you want to know, Captain?" Maura said with a grin.

Jane couldn't help but smile from the way the look in Maura's eyes made her feel so at ease. The way they were laughing together now, it seemed like maybe they could have known each other for much longer than a couple days. It seemed strange, too, for Maura to call her "Captain." Still, she wasn't exactly ready to invite her to call her Jane, but she agreed, their titles seemed awfully formal.

The brunette looked at the honey blond inquiringly. Then her face stiffened with seriousness. Jane had a lot of questions to ask, questions that needed to be answered before she could trust Maura enough to let her stay with her crew. Taking the doctor on as a passenger was one thing, but if Maura wanted to stay on, to rent one of Serenity's shuttles as she had proposed earlier, Jane would have to know that Maura wouldn't just fly off with it.

"What were you doing pretending to be a Companion at Emma's Ranch?" Jane asked bluntly. Out of all of the questions she had, this vexed her the most.

The doctor looked at her with a weak smile. She knew she couldn't lie, but she had hoped to avoid this topic for a while, at least until Jane had got to know her better. Maura worried that Jane wouldn't want to take her on if she revealed the dangerous and mysterious nature of her past.

"I was hiding." Maura finally said with a sigh.

"Hiding from who?" Jane said, frowning at her. Perhaps Maura wasn't as innocent as she seemed.

"I don't know." Maura said simply. And it was true, she wasn't sure exactly who was pursuing her, all she knew is that they intended her and her family harm.

"Could you be any more cryptic? I might accidently understand what you're hinting at." Jane said with a smile that Maura was starting to recognize as a sign of her sarcasm.

"I'm sorry." Maura said with a solemn shake of her head. "I really don't know who it is that is after me. All I know is that they have made several attempts on my life."

Jane's brow furrowed as she studied the honey blond. She could not think of one reason why someone would want to kill this bright, attractive, young woman. Maybe shake some sense into her naïve mind, but not kill her. Still, Jane got the feeling that Maura was being honest with her, so she nodded.

"The Serenity crew is no stranger to danger, as you've seen; most of us have had an attempt on our life once or twice." Jane said with an encouraging smile.

"I don't want to put your family in any extra danger unnecessarily." Maura said, her gaze downward again. "It's just… everywhere I go he seems to find me…"

Maura's eyes were teary. Her face contorted as she struggled to hold back all the fear and hopelessness that had been building up the past few months. Maura breathed deeply, trying not to let her resolve break down, she had made it this far already without crying in front of anyone.

Jane blinked at her unsure of what to do. This near stranger was about to break down in tears in front of her. Should she hug her or try to make some sort of joke? "You're…you're not going to cry, are you?"

"I'm sorry… I'm trying not to." Maura said sucking in a deep breath. "It's just that my amygdala and my lacrimal gland have a connection I can't really control."

They were quiet for a moment as Maura sniffled a few times, then managed to suppress her tears with an intake of breath. She looked up into Jane's coffee brown eyes. She seemed honestly concerned, a sentiment that might have made Maura teary-eyed again if Jane's face had not broken into a heartwarming smile. Maura smiled too. They started laughing, quietly at first, almost timidly, and then their laughter grew loud and heartfelt.

"Do you…" Jane said, trying to calm her breathing, "do you always talk like that?"

"Yes," Maura said, her tone defensive yet apologetic at the same time, "it tends to unnerve people. I guess they find it pretentious."

"Well I don't." Jane said. _I kind of find it endearing, _she thought to herself with a grin.

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"Janey, you should really eat more, you're getting so skinny!" Angela said gesturing to her daughter's plate with a dripping spoon.

"Ma!" Jane said wiping at the meal that Angela had inadvertently flung onto her shirt. "You're getting that gruel all over the place!"

"Hey!" Angela said, pointing the spoon at Jane threateningly as Maura waited patiently for her serving. "Don't you talk about my food that way!"

Jane blinked as more meal went flying into her face. She stared angrily after her mother as she progressed down the table, but Angela was not paying attention. The crew was all gathered around the table in the canteen.

While Serenity could carry up to eighteen passengers, the center table could only squeeze about ten of them comfortably. Jane sat in her customary spot at the head of the table with Korsak at her right. Maura took Frost's usual spot on Jane's left. Frost himself had taken his plate, and one for the prisoner, with him to the passenger dorms. Sitting next to Korsak were Frankie and Tommy.

Next to Maura was an elderly couple that had mentioned they were on their way to the White Star system to see their first grandchild. Two seats were empty, seeing as the rest of the passengers had expressed that they preferred to eat in their bunks. The seat on the very end was Angela's, where she finally sat down, a judging eye still trained on Jane.

"It's not my fault you refuse to invest in some decent foodstuffs." Angela said irritably as she poked her food with her spoon just as disapprovingly as Jane had been poking hers a moment before.

"Actually, with a few properly combined spices this wouldn't be that bad." Maura said, spooning up the food at a steady but polite pace.

"What would be nice is some fried tomatoes and sausages…" Angela said dreamily. Cooking had been so much more enjoyable on the settlement. She may not have always had the ingredients to cook traditional Italian dishes, but at least there she had her own vegetable garden.

"I'd be happy to eat something other than this slop for once." Frankie mumbled to himself.

"What did you say?" Angela hollered rather crossly from the other side of the table.

Jane smiled her brother teasingly and gestured for Angela to pass the bowl. "He said he would like seconds."

"Jane!" Frankie said, trying to kick his sister under the table.

"Ow!" Korsak objected when Frankie's foot came into contact with his knee.

"Stop it you two!" Angela said in a loud whisper, "We have guests!"

The table was silent for a while as everyone ate their food. Jane glanced at Maura curiously. The honey blond had been grinning from ear to ear since they had sat down. Jane smiled at her, wondering what could be so entertaining about a bickering family eating unappetizing food.

Maura quietly ate her food, wondering if Jane had any idea how lucky she was. The doctor had never spent much time with her family. Her parents had sent her off world to a special boarding school when she was only six years old. When she had seen either of them it had only ever been briefly and was rarely for much longer than a couple days. She hadn't heard from her father in nearly ten years. And as for her mother, she only contacted Maura every once in a while, but since she had been on the run, her mother had no way of contacting her.

Seeing the Rizzoli's huddled together eating and conversing like they must do nearly every night, Maura wondered what it would be like to have dinners with her parents. If anything they would be quiet. Unlike the Serenity crew, who were chatting amiably as they ate, Maura's family had never been much for conversation.

Maura watched with a subdued chuckle as Frankie tapped his brother on the far shoulder, scrapping his food into Tommy's bowl as he turned to his left. Tommy looked at his mother expectantly, who simply frowned at him. He turned, dropping his spoon, and mock punched his big brother with an irritated expression.

"What's so funny?" Jane said, noticing Maura laughing.

"Nothing really." Maura said dabbing her lips with a napkin. "It's just nice to see you guys all together, being a family."

"Trust me, it's overrated." Jane said in a hushed tone, glancing at her mother.

Angela narrowed her eyes at Jane briefly, expecting she had mumbled something about being miserable with her family aboard the ship. Rather than snap at her daughter she turned and beamed at Maura.

"What about you, Maura?" Mrs. Rizzoli asked conversationally. "Do you have any family?"

Maura smiled weakly, glancing towards Angela only briefly. "My mother and father are from Beaumonde. I haven't seen either of them in a very long time, though."

"Well, surely they write to you." Angela said with a hopeful expression. The middle-aged woman held her family in the highest regard. She expected everyone else to do so as well. In a world torn apart by the War all you could really count on were your kin.

"Mother writes sometimes." Maura said, the brightness fading from her eyes, "At least she used to."

"Why, what happened?" Jane asked with concern.

"My mother is a very busy woman. She has a very influential position on Beaumonde that makes long distance correspondence difficult. And I've been on the move so much, I haven't been able to send word for some time.

The table was quiet again, no one really knowing what to say. Maura glanced up at Jane; the look in Maura's hazel eyes nearly broke Jane's heart. Her family was clearly a subject Maura had not been prepared to talk about. The brunette smiled at her and nodded in silent understanding. Perhaps Jane wasn't so bad off having her family around.

Dinner ended shortly after that. Jane and Frankie helped their mother clean the table while Tommy headed back to his bunk to rest. The elderly couple thanked Angela and the Captain for the lovely meal and headed to their bunks as well. Korsak went to the bridge to check on their course. Maura lingered in the canteen, her living arrangements having not yet been arranged. The doctor was waiting patiently for a moment alone with Jane when suddenly a familiar face appeared in the corridor.

"Billy?" Maura said, shocked.

"You!" The young man said, stopping dead in his tracks.

Jane turned to look at Maura, who looked as white as a sheet. Her eyes followed Maura's gaze to a brown haired man, early twenties. He was one of the passengers they had picked up on their way off of Ezra. The man had seemed inconspicuous enough before, but now that Maura seemed to recognize him Jane began to wonder just who this traveler was.

"Maura, do you know this man?" Jane said, her hand moving to her holster automatically.

"He's Emma's ranch hand, Billy." Maura said breathlessly.

At first Maura had been relieved to see the young man alive and well. Ever since Frost had said he had been kidnapped, Maura had worried about what horrible things Ashley Tate could have done to him. But then when she realized he had been trying to sneak away, perhaps noticing Maura standing there, it became apparent that his intentions might not be innocent.

The young man turned to run away but Jane raised her revolver. The click of the hammer cocking back caused Billy to stop dead in his tracks. He raised his hands in the air but did not turn around.

"This is a small ship, Billy." Jane said, stepping forward. "Not a lot of places to run."

"I didn't do anything." Billy insisted, looking at Jane from over his shoulder.

"I never said you did." Jane said, approaching the young man cautiously. He didn't appear to be resisting, but that didn't change the fact that he had a gun in the holster on his hip. "I just want to ask you some questions about a prisoner I got on board."

"I don't know anything about her." Billy said, looking uneasy as he slowly turned around.

"Did I say our prisoner was a woman?" Jane said to Maura with a confident smile.

Maura simply shook her head. She couldn't speak even if she tried; her heart was too busy racing in her chest. She was finding it difficult to even breathe. Her eyes darted back and forth between a confident looking Jane and an edgy looking Billy.

Jane finally closed the distance between herself and the young man, stepping in front of Maura. As she always did, Jane placed herself in between her crew and any source of danger. She was their Captain, after all. Their lives were her responsibility, no matter what the risk to herself. Life sure would be a lot simpler for her if she was on her own, but that was never really an option for Jane; family came first.

Billy had been silent for a long time. He had a frantic look on his face like he was trying to figure out how to backtrack, to explain away what he had said. With someone like Jane Rizzoli staring you down, however, any type of thinking becomes a real challenge.

Billy's fingers twitched over the holster at his side. His gaze was unsteady and his breathing tremulous. Jane was her usual cool and confident self. That is, until the lights suddenly went out and Korsak came over the speaker, "Captain to the bridge."

"Fucking hell, Korsak!" Jane cursed into the darkness, her heart pounding in her chest. She looked around her frantically but there was nothing but blackness. Behind her she could hear her mother crying and cursing at Frankie. She figured Billy had run off, but where was Maura?

"Frankie, get a flare!" Jane hollered over her shoulder, keeping her eyes and her gun pointed in front of her. "Keep Ma back!"

"Where's Maura?" Angela said as the Rizzoli's scuffled backwards.

"She was here a moment ago." Jane said breathlessly, squinting as Frankie finally lit a flare. Her eyes dashed around the kitchen but the doctor was nowhere to be seen.

(To Be Continued)


	4. Chapter 4 All in a Look

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

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A/N: Please review if you like what you read, even short reviews totally make my day!

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Chapter 4 – All in a Look

"What the fuck, Korsak?" Jane yelled into the darkness. "Couldn't have given us a little warning before you went black, huh?" Jane said taking the flare Frankie held out to her.

"Sorry, Jane." Korsak said from behind Jane, who had finally backed her family down the corridor and onto the bridge. "Not enough time. Alliance cruiser came out of nowhere."

"The Alliance sure has lovely timing don't they?" Jane said, scanning the monitors quickly. "What are they doing all the way out here anyway? We shouldn't be running into cruisers for another couple days now."

"Not sure." Korsak said in a low voice, as if whispering would decrease the chances they would be spotted. "They haven't altered course yet, but I didn't notice them until they were almost on us."

Jane warily watched as the cruiser slowly made its way past them. Normally, a Firefly-class ship full of random passengers would be of little interest to an Alliance cruiser. But Serenity was far from the usual passenger ship. Aside from hiding several pilfered items of questionable legality (and uncertain value), the ship was currently harboring more than one known fugitive, Jane included.

Given an opportunity the Alliance would jump on the chance to arrest Captain Rizzoli and her partners in crime, and finally put a rest to the havoc she liked to reek on their plans to extend Alliance influence into the border planets. Capturing Ashley Tate and her accomplice would only be icing on the cake.

Jane, however, wasn't about to give them the chance to steal the bounty she had gone to such lengths to collect. So, rather than even give the Alliance a chance to board her ship for random inspection, she instructed Korsak to go dark at any sign of a cruiser. Firefly ships still functioning were a rare sight, so they were certain to be recognized. If they cut their engines and all non-essential systems, they might just pass as simply another piece of floating space junk.

"Have they…?" Jane said breathlessly, as the cruiser moved slowly out of view.

"No…" Korsak said with a quiet sigh, "they are remaining on course."

There was a universal exhale as everyone on the bridge simultaneously started breathing again. Angela looked worriedly at her daughter. Now that the danger had passed she considered now a time to rebuke her with a glare and slap to her arm.

"What reason do you have to be hiding from the Alliance anyway?" Angela said, pointing an accusing finger at the brunette.

"Ma!" Jane said, rubbing her shoulder with a scowl. "You know they only mean to give people like me trouble!"

Angela squinted at Jane with suspicion, as if she didn't think her daughter was telling her the whole truth. In fact, Jane had managed to hide from her mother any clue as to how she managed to scrape money together when the bounties were too few, or—as was often the case—involved too much interaction with the Alliance or traveling to core planets. Jane wasn't always proud of the ways she made money, but she reasoned that since she never stole from those who couldn't afford it and only sold to those who needed it the most, she wasn't really doing anything all that bad. Still, she didn't want to worry Angela with the morality of these side jobs; she already disapproved so much of Jane's main line of work anyway.

"What about Billy?" Frankie said, interrupting the stare-down going on between mother and daughter.

"Maura!" Jane said, taking her pistol from its holster once again.

In all the excitement with the Alliance cruiser Jane had totally forgotten that the doctor had gone missing shortly after the lights went down. She ran out into the corridor without even thinking to tell Korsak to power up again. All that was on her mind was to find Maura.

"I swear to God, Billy, if you've laid one hand on her…" Jane said as she made her way down the steps to the cargo bay.

"You'll what?" Billy said with a laugh as the lights flickered on.

Jane was standing on the gantry on the right side of the cargo bay, looking down at Billy who was gripping a struggling Maura with his arm around her neck. Unfamiliar with the ships layout he had most likely been attempting to make his way to the passenger dorms to find Ashley. Maura had apparently not made the trip very easy for him; despite obviously having been hit upside the face several times, she was still grasping at his arm, trying to relieve the pressure he was placing on her trachea.

"Let her go." Jane said, raising her pistol and aiming at the young man.

"Or what?" Billy said with a cocky grin, as he pointed his own revolver at Maura's temple. "You'll shoot me? Hope you're a good shot. Wouldn't want to hit your little honey here instead."

Jane narrowed her gaze and clenched her jaw. She might be able to make the shot, but if either of them even moved the slightest bit at the last second, she could hit Maura instead. Briefly, her eyes met Maura's. The doctor stared up Jane fearfully. Just when Jane had resigned to setting her pistol down, Maura's eyes flashed with an unspoken plea.

Then, with all the strength she could muster Maura thrust her arms back, her elbows smashing right up into where Maura had accurately estimated Billy's diaphragm to be. The sudden compression of his lungs caused him to stumble backward, releasing her. Maura managed to duck down just in time for Jane to fire a shot. He stumbled forward, trying to grab Maura despite the wound. The brunette did not even hesitate to fire again and he finally fell to the floor.

After only a second to recover herself the doctor turned to check Billy's pulse. But he was already dead, the second bullet piercing him right in the heart; when Jane Rizzoli took a shot at someone, she aimed to kill.

"Jane!" Angela yelled as she caught up to her daughter. She looked down at the bloody scene in the cargo bay. "Maura, are you alright?"

"Yes, Mrs. Rizzoli, I'm fine." Maura said breathlessly. She was still trying to recover from the shock of what had just happened, but physically she was nothing more than bruised. The piercing sounds of gunfire still rung in her ears as she nodded up at the older woman. "Just a few contusions."

"What was that all about?" Angela said, following her daughter down the steps.

"Ma go back up to the kitchen, you don't need to see this." Jane said approaching the bloody corpse.

"What about Tommy?" Angela said, averting her eyes. She was shaking, as if about to cry.

"Frankie," Jane said to her brother, who had joined Korsak in the cargo bay, "take Ma to check on Tommy, okay?"

Frankie nodded and guided a very upset looking Angela to the passenger dorm. Jane was glad to have her mother distracted, she didn't need to see them dispose of Billy's body, or clean up the pool of blood he was lying in.

"What are you doing?" Jane said watching as Maura crouched over the body, inspecting his face closely.

"There's just something curious about his bone structure I hadn't noticed before." Maura said, an inquisitive frown on her brow.

Jane raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "What are you talking about?"

"It seems familiar somehow." Maura said, pointing at his lifeless eyes. "Even the pattern on his irises."

"His irises?" Jane repeated, blinking at the doctor in disbelief.

"Yes, the thin, colored, circular structures in the eyes. They control the diameter of the pupils to regulate the light that reaches the retina."

"Yes," Jane said, watching as Maura turned the body over to examine it closer, "thank you for that explanation Doctor Smartypants."

Maura looked up at Jane with a look she could only describe as a mix of mild agitation and amusement. In time, Jane would grow familiar with this friendly response to her sarcasm; even find excuses to elicit this expression from her, if only for the satisfaction of making the doctor smile despite her exasperation.

The doctor decided to ignore the Captain's mocking remark and instead stood up and looked at the brunette with a contemplative expression. "I think there is a statistical possibility that this man shares certain genetic traits with Ashley Tate."

"You mean they are related?" Korsak interjected, having returned from checking on Frost in Tate's bunk.

"I never said that." Maura said shortly, "I simply said there was a statistical possibility."

"She's supposed to have a brother, could this be him?" Jane said, kneeling down to look at him closer.

"I don't know." Maura said, looking at her indignantly.

"But if you had to guess?" Jane said, looking up at the doctor expectantly.

"I do not guess." Maura said, almost sounding insulted that Jane would even imply that she do anything of the sort.

"Really?" Jane retorted, more annoyed with Maura's tone than her response.

"I'm a scientist, and a professional, I can't go around guessing." Maura said looking at Jane as if this was obvious.

Jane rolled her eyes. She turned to Korsak. "There's one way to find out." She said with a smirk, "Why don't we bring Ashley out to see the ranch hand?"

So, Jane went and retrieved the prisoner, and sent Frost to check on the rest of the passengers. The last thing they needed was a civilian stumbling into the cargo bay and start asking questions. Boarding a Firefly class ship like Serenity never guaranteed complete safety, but even those used to the lawlessness of this part of the Verse would at least be upset upon discovering the crew had killed one of it's passengers.

Maura was just covering the body with a blanket when Jane tossed a bound Ashley into the cargo bay. Tate's customary smug composure faltered as she glimpsed the blood that stained the metallic floor. Her jaw tensed, her face twitching as she tried not to reveal how upset she was.

"We found your accomplice." Jane said, studying Ashley's reaction carefully. She was clearly bothered by the dead man on the floor, but Jane could sense a tinge of annoyance as well. Tate really did have a cold heart.

"A minor inconvenience." Ashley said with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

"Inconvenience?" Maura said indignantly. "This man is your brother and you're _inconvenienced_ by his death?"

Jane glanced at the doctor, who didn't want to believe someone could be so callous. The brunette gave her a sad smile. Maura really had no idea how much evil a human being was capable of. It saddened Jane to think that Maura would slowly lose her naivety, and grow cynical just as Jane had.

"His only job was to make sure I was never captured." Ashley said with a sigh. "He couldn't even do that much. Had to go off and get lost, leaving me to come find you myself."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "What would you be looking for me for?"

"To see what all the fuss was about." Ashley said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Charles was always going on about how you were the one who got away."

The brunette eyed her suspiciously. She seriously doubted that Hoyt would devote his time to taking on an apprentice as careless and comparatively benign as Ashley Tate. Jane found it far more likely that Tate was a member of Hoyt's cult following. It would not be the first time she had run into a serial killer who claimed association with the infamous killer.

She did, however, think it possible that Hoyt would attempt to come after her again. He was the kind of person that liked to keep up his reputation, and to this day Jane was the only one who had ever escaped his clutches with her life. Jane wouldn't be surprised if he relished in the fact that she spent every night since fearful that he would return to finish the job.

Jane tried to question Tate further about what she supposedly knew about Hoyt, but she seemed to enjoy leaving Jane in the dark. The Captain thought it likely that the real reason Ashley revealed nothing was because she really knew nothing. Still, Jane couldn't take the chance that Hoyt really had sent this apprentice on her. If he had, he was not only still after her, but knew where she was and what she was up to. Jane really didn't like the thought of Hoyt keeping tabs on her.

Finally, late into the night, Jane relented her interrogation of Ashley Tate and made her way to her bunk. She was exhausted and her body ached but she couldn't imagine going to sleep. Her mind was still buzzing with questions. If only she had pushed Ashley harder, if only she had found a way to crack through that shell, maybe she would have been able to get something more useful out of her. But if Jane spent anymore time trying to understand Ashley's psyche, it might literally make her crazy.

"Night Frankie." Jane said, nodding at her brother, who was taking his turn guarding the bunk where Tate was being kept.

"Night Jane." He said sleepily, covering up a yawn.

"You sure you'll be okay to take watch?" Jane said, nudging Frankie gently. "I could stay for a while, if you want."

"Nah, Korsak will be around soon." Frankie said, blinking and trying to look alert.

Jane studied her brother carefully for a moment. Frankie might want to help, but it wasn't like Jane was going to sleep much anyway; she never really did. So, when Frankie yawned for the second time, she stood him up and prodded him towards his bunk.

"Go!" she said with a faint smile, "Or Ma will be bugging us both about the dark circles under your eyes."

Frankie mumbled something as he stumbled into his bunk. Jane laughingly told him goodnight and took the seat outside Tate's door. Sleepily she ran her hands over her face and into her hair. Tonight would be just like any other night: a whole lot of idle staring, plenty of worrying, and hardly even a wink of sleep.

* * *

"Good morning Jane!" Maura said, discovering the exhausted looking brunette in the corridor.

"Morning?" Jane said, blinking up at her. The doctor looked awfully cheerful for the early hours of the day.

"Yes." Maura said, frowning at Jane. "Have you even been to bed?"

"Nah." The brunette said with a shrug. "Korsak slept through his watch and I wasn't tired, so…"

Jane's voice trailed off as she noticed the look on Maura's face. Jane knew that face; it was the one her mother gave her whenever she did anything unnecessarily reckless or unhealthy. Fearing a lecture was soon to follow she quickly added, "I would just be lying awake in my bunk anyway, so don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Maura said with an innocent smile.

"Like I'm being irresponsible or something." Jane said with a shrug, looking at her hands.

"I don't think you're being irresponsible," Maura said, and then more quietly she added, "I'm just worried about you."

Jane looked up at Maura questioningly. The look on the doctor's face was as genuine and compassionate as it had been the other day when she treated her brother. The brunette felt both relieved and confused. She didn't think she deserved to be looked at that way by anyone. Surely Maura had simply gotten it into her head that Jane was a far better person than she really was.

"Don't worry about me." Jane said, trying to dismiss Maura's sincerity for simply a way of making conversation. "I can take care of myself."

Maura smiled at her softly and nodded. She certainly was the type of woman who could take care of herself. From what Maura could tell, Jane spent a lot of her time and energy trying to convince herself she didn't need anyone. The doctor knew this was a coping mechanism for all the loss and strife Jane had experienced; still, she knew what that felt like and how it could wear you down.

But Maura didn't know how to express any of this to Jane without treading on what might be sensitive issues. The doctor may have a limited experience with social situations, but she was fairly certain that psychoanalyzing the brunette was not the best way to go about building a friendship with her. And she really wanted to be Jane's friend.

"So, why would you be lying awake in your bunk?" Maura said, deciding to change the subject.

"I don't know." Jane lied, shrugging her shoulders and sighing. "Just have a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Well, a lot of times when I can't sleep it's because I can't stop thinking about that man." Maura said, sitting on the floor next to Jane's chair.

"What man?" Jane said curiously.

"The one who keeps trying to kill me." Maura said in a quiet voice.

Jane looked down at the woman sitting next to her on the dusty metal floor. Here was a superbly dressed—as Maura always seemed to be—beautiful, near stranger literally lowering herself to comfort a woman as useless and lost as her. Not only that, but the doctor was opening up to her in an attempt to be more friendly.

"Maura?" Jane said suddenly.

"Yes, Jane?" Maura replied, looking up at her with a warm smile.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Jane said, her voice low and almost trembling. She almost felt as if she was begging Maura to never stop looking at her the way she was right now, the way that made Jane feel utterly complete and totally undone all at once.

To be honest, Maura didn't really know why she cared so much for the Captain. Maybe it was because she could see all the good in Jane that she didn't seem to be able to see herself. Maybe it was because Jane was the first person to ever treat her like a normal person, despite her fact-blabbing and social naivety. Then again, maybe it was because for some reason she could not yet fathom, she just wanted to be closer to Jane.

Despite all of that, when she looked up at the brunette with a bright smile and sparkling hazel eyes she said, "You saved my life."

Neither knew yet how true this really was. Nor did Jane know just how Maura would repay the favor a hundred times over by going one step further and saving Jane from herself.

To Be Continued


	5. Chapter 5 Something Worth Slumming For

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Life happened. Please review if you like. They make me super happy!

* * *

Chapter 5 – Something Worth Slumming For

It was several days later when Serenity finally arrived on Persephone. By then most of the passengers had been dropped off at other locations, so the crew that disembarked the humble ship was considerably smaller than the one that had boarded at Ezra. The only ones that remained were the elderly couple, who had shared dinner with the Serenity crew every evening, and a tied and bound Ashley Tate.

"So, are you to stay here at the Eavesdown Docks, or are you moved onto another settlement?" the old man said genially to Maura. He and his wife seemed sad to part ways with the doctor, for she had been the only one of the crew, aside from Angela, who had shown them any interest. It wasn't that the Serenity crew was rude or disinterested in the passengers they took on; it was just that to them passengers seemed to be coming and going all the time. Jane, Korsak and Frost, even the Rizzoli boys now, were always too busy trying to fix one thing or another, or avoiding one disaster after another to really get to know any of the temporary boarders.

"Actually, I hope to stay on with the crew." Maura said, taking in a deep breath of non-recycled air.

"Whatever for?" the old woman said, a shocked look on her face. It seemed that she did not think it a good idea for a lady like the young doctor to be associating herself with people like Serenity's crew, except, perhaps, out of absolute necessity.

Maura smiled briefly at the gray and auburn haired woman. The doctor was slowly starting to realize how Jane Rizzoli and her crew had gained their reputation. They gave no mind to what others thought of them and simply went on with their business—often illegal business. What the average person didn't see, and what Maura was only starting to get hints of, was that they rarely acted purely out of self-interest—like many well-to-do respectable citizens of the Alliance did—but rather helped those they came into contact with even when doing so was an inconvenience.

The doctor and the elderly couple watched as Jane and Korsak dragged the non-compliant prisoner out of the cargo bay and into the bright sunlight. Maura's eyes went straight to the stern expression on the brunette's face. A soft smile spread across the doctor's face as she thought about how much integrity and benevolence was buried under the stubborn flare of intensity in those russet eyes. Few people, even Jane's family, knew how hard the brunette struggled to hide her kind heart. But Maura had seen a glimpse of it the day before when she had accidently overheard a conversation between her, Frost and Korsak.

_Maura had gone to check on the progress of cleaning out the shuttle she was to rent. From the look of things, the crew were clearly not finished removing several dozen crates from the shuttle's living area. As she turned the corner to peak in she picked up on hushed tones. Whatever was going on here, it was clearly none of her business. But then she heard Frost raise his voice in agitation._

"_I still don't understand why we can't just sell these to Badger." Jane's young partner said irritably. He made a loud groaning noise, as if lifting something very heavy. "I know you don't like to deal with him, but we're going to see him already anyway."_

"_Because Badger is a dirty son-of-a-bitch and I'm only delivering Tate to him because we need the money." Jane said, just as irritated, "Hey! Watch it! Those are fragile!"_

_Maura peeked into the small compartment, watching the three of them from behind a tall stack of crates. She normally would mind her own business but her curiosity was peaked. What reason did Jane have to store cargo in the shuttle when there was still plenty of room downstairs in the cargo bay? For that matter, what was with all the whispering?_

"_Yes__," Korsak said crouching down to pick up a box, "we __do__ need the money. So why don't we just sell this stuff to him and be rid of it?"_

_His face contorted as he tried to lift the crate with a grunt. Maura was just about to interrupt him and comment that he should really be lifting with his knees rather than his back when Jane pushed him aside._

"_Move over old man, I got this one." She said lifting the box with a fair amount of ease. "Look, I realize you guys are getting tired of eating gruel—"_

"_And don't forget the starboard engine is on its last leg." Korsak added._

"_The port side engine isn't that well off either." Frost said, setting down a crate near the door, causing Maura to slip back to avoid being spotted._

"_I promised these medical supplies to the people of Paradiso." Jane said, hardly missing a beat, also setting a box on the stack near the door._

"_Yeah," Frost said looking conflicted, "but Badger would pay at least twice as much as what Sherriff Bourne can offer."_

"_And Badger would turn around and charge his people four times what he paid for it!" Jane said, pointing a rebuking finger at her young partner. "He's a dirty crook and piece of shit."_

"_We could at least sell enough to patch up Serenity." Frost suggested with a shrug. "We'll never get to Paradiso without any engines."_

"_Then we'll just have to float all the way there then, won't we?" Jane said, wiping sweat from her brow and sighing with frustration._

"_Jane..." Korsak said, looking at her as if not sure she was being completely reasonable._

"_We're not selling the supplies to Badger and that is final!" Jane nearly yelled. _

_Startled by Jane's sudden outburst Maura stumbled back and out of the shadows. The three turned to see her standing in the doorway, face blushing and eyes looking shocked. Her mouth hung open slightly as she tried to think of what to say._

"_I—I…" Maura fumbled, "I was wondering if you needed any help cleaning up."_

"_No." Jane said recovering quickly from the realization that the Doctor had probably been spying on the entire conversation. Rather than address what she had overheard, Jane decided to pretend like there had been nothing to see. "We're all good. Should have your place all ready for you by tomorrow."_

Despite the fact that Jane had acted like Maura had not stumbled onto anything compromising, she did approach the doctor later that day about what had happened. Jane did not refer to anything specific when she brought it up, but she mentioned to Maura that there were some things she and her partners hid from her family for their own safety.

"I'm not asking you to lie, Maura." Jane had said, looking right into her hazel eyes. "But I'd appreciate it if you kept certain things to yourself."

Maura had simply nodded in response. She found it curious the kind of things that Jane tried to hide from people. It seemed she didn't mind people seeing her violent temper or her uncultured manners. But when it came to her unbridled passion or her generous heart, she hid them away like they weren't worth anyone's time.

"I might just have found something worth slumming here for." Maura said to the elderly couple, her eyes meeting Jane's for a moment. The brunette smiled at her at her briefly before turning and shoving Tate into the back of an ATV.

* * *

"Jane Rizzoli." The dirty blond said with a cocky grin that spread across his scruffy face and shown in his light brown eyes. He wore a threadbare, pinstriped gray suit coat over a thin maroon shirt. Wrapped around his bare neck was a dark red tie and a dark gray bowler hat was placed atop his messy hair. The businessman was sitting in his office, leaning back in his chair and lazily looking up at Jane.

"That's Captain Jane Rizzoli to you, Badger." Frost said, his hands hovering threatening over his hips, ready to draw his pistol if the man decided to make any unexpected moves, or rather if one of his several bodyguards got a little too hasty.

"My apologies," Badger said in a thick cockney accent, dipping his head mockingly, "Captain."

"We've got your bounty right here." Jane said, pushing Tate forward and narrowing her eyes at Frost and commanding him under her breath to keep his mouth shut. They didn't need any trouble, especially with someone as powerful as Badger was in this part of town.

"Right down to business then." Badger said, standing up and approaching the prisoner. "Hmm…" he said, circling her and studying her as one would an object you were considering purchasing. "She seems a bit… scrawny, you know, for a mass murderer."

"She's Ashley Tate, alright." Jane said, indicating the scar above her eye. "Even found her accomplice, her brother Billy."

"And where's he?" Badger said, looking mildly interested.

"Dead." Jane replied, not liking the way the businessman was acting. She was beginning to worry that he wasn't going to give her the handsome reward he had promised for her capture.

"Really?" Badger replied, "But you bothered to keep this one relatively unharmed."

"Not without some convincing." Maura commented in a low tone, unable to contain herself any longer. She had accompanied Jane and Frost to Badger's headquarters despite the former's complaints, claiming that as "ship's doctor" she needed to ensure the physical well being of all passengers whether crew, board or prisoner. What she didn't tell them was that she was actually curious about this Badger character and what he might possibly know about a man from Hera whom he was said to have business connections with.

"And who might this fine lady be?" Badger said, noticing Maura for the first time. He gave her a crooked toothed grin and an appreciative eyebrow raise as he approached her.

"Doctor Maura Isles." Maura said with a bright smile, reaching out her hand to greet him genially.

"A Doctor?" Badger said with surprise, taking Maura's hand and leaning down to kiss it in a somewhat mocking gesture.

"Get your greasy hands off of her, Badger." Jane said in a low growl, her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed.

"A wee possessive ain't ya?" the businessman said with a cocky grin.

"She's just not for sale, that's all." Jane said, easing back as Badger released Maura's hand.

"Rizzoli, how could ya ever suggest that I business man like myself would involve myself in such a trade?" Badger said with a mocking shake of his head.

Jane eyed him knowingly. She had seen the way he looked at the doctor like she was a piece of meat. It had been very similar to the way he had looked at Tate, only Maura was way more valuable than a criminal. Maura was not only beautiful and intelligent; she was a doctor, a highly valued trade when it came to indentured servants.

"I wasn't _suggesting_ anything." Jane said, her angry glare remaining resolute despite the growing tension in the room. The brunette did not like how off topic they were getting. She wanted to hand off Tate, get their money and be done with it. No small talk, no witty banter, no biding, just complete the business transaction and leave. But things were never really that simple.

After a moment of apprehensive silence Jane decided she would try to get them back on track. "So," she said pushing Tate forward, "since you're a business man and all, why don't you be good to your word and give us the reward for catching the killer."

"Not sure she be worth it anymore." Badger said with a lazy shrug, turning around and taking a seat at his desk. "Hasn't been much of a problem since she ran off. People forgot all about the murders. Ain't worth the money to catch someone people aren't scared of anymore."

"You aren't going to punish her for what she did?" Maura said in disbelief.

Badger shrugged his shoulders and picked up the stub of a cigar, rolling it in his teeth. "Never intended to punish her. Just make an example of her, reassure people that I could take care of business if I have ta. But she's barely worth the price of a bullet now, no less 50,000 units."

"You promised 75,000!" Frankie said, stepping forward, his hand on his gun. "You dirty liar."

All seven of Badger's bodyguards stepped forward, aiming their weapons at Jane and her companions. The brunette held her brother back. Realizing they were in no position to protest, Frankie relented, standing silently beside Jane, clenching his fists and flaring his nostrils.

"I don't take very kindly to people slanderin' my good name." Badger said, narrowing his gaze at Jane's partner. "An' I certainly don't do business with 'em."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Jane said spreading out her hands in a defensive gesture. She gave Frankie a glaring look out of the corner of her eye. Tensions might be high, but he certainly wasn't making things any easier by insulting the man they were trying to do business with. It was times like these she really wished she didn't let her younger brother tag along so much.

For a moment the group was quiet. Jane studied Badger carefully, wondering what game the man was playing today. He might claim to be an honest, hard-working man of business, but Badger always had some trick up his sleeve, some way of coming out of things ahead of the rest. She narrowed her eyes at him as she calculated the possibility that he had been bluffing.

"Alright." Jane finally said with a shrug. "Well, I guess if she isn't worth anything to you I'll just get rid of her then."

Very suddenly Jane drew her pistol and pointed at Tate's head. The room was just as suddenly filled with the sound of more than half a dozen guns being raised, the majority of which were pointed at the brunette. She smiled lazily and looked expectantly at Badger. She made to pull the trigger and the flinch that flitted across his face told Jane all she had to know.

"Maybe your people are a little more eager to see this one hang than you're letting on." Jane said with a self-assured grin.

Badger eyed her for a few minutes before saying anything. When he finally did say something he spoke calmly and coolly, looking up at the Captain with his customary cocky grin and a playful raise of his eyebrow. He leaned back into his chair as he lit the stub of a cigar in his mouth.

"I'm sure such a spectacle would be worth…" he said, pausing as if to calculate as he blew a puff of smoke into the air, "25,000?"

"Forty-five." Jane said, her gun still poised at Tate's temple.

"Thirty."

"Forty."

"Thirty-five."

"Done." Jane said with an air of confidence, though her gut was burning with anger. This was what dealing with people like Badger was like. Give them what they want and they spit all over it and you and then throw you some spare change. But right now, Jane didn't really have a choice.

* * *

"Thirty-five thousand?!" Frost said indignantly as they left Badger's establishment. "That's barely enough to cover fuel, food, and patch up the engine no less give any of us any decent pay!"

"You don't think know that?!" Jane yelled at her partner crossly. She threw her hat fiercely to the ground, a throaty growl escaping from between her clenched teeth.

Frost threw up his hands and shook his head in disbelief, heading off to the ship on his own mumbling under his breath. Frankie had nearly leapt out of his skin when his sister had yelled. He scampered off almost immediately, knowing his sister's temper all too well.

Maura, however, had not yet learned to gauge just when Jane needed to be left alone. Frankly, at the moment she was far too concerned about the brunette's earlier behavior to worry about Jane's current state of mind.

"Jane?" Maura said, approaching her cautiously, still wary of any sort of confrontation with the Captain.

"What?!" Jane said in a loud, angry growl. Maura tried to ignore the way the sound made her heart skip a beat and her stomach fill with an odd mix of delight and alarm.

Jane let out a sigh as she swooped down to pick up her hat and her gaze swung back up into Maura's startled hazel eyes. Instantly, Jane's irritation melted away. Jane smiled apologetically at Maura, releasing a calming breath. The brunette dusted off the hat and placed it atop her head. The features softened on her usually stern face.

"Yes, Maur?" Jane said in a tender tone that took Maura by surprise.

The doctor blushed slightly at not only the nickname but also how it had simply rolled off of Jane's tongue like she had been calling her that for years. Despite her initial shyness, Maura posed the burning question with conviction.

"You wouldn't really have killed her, would you?" the doctor said almost wishing rather than asking.

"Maura," Jane said, their gazes meeting briefly, "I will do whatever it takes to protect my crew—to protect my family."

The doctor let out a quiet gasp. She really didn't know what she had expected. Whatever Jane might have said, Maura did not anticipate her answer would leave her feeling so conflicted. She was quickly learning that there were often things about the brunette that went behind any explanation.

"You are deceptively complex. I do not understand you." Maura said, frowning at her.

Jane smiled at her but said nothing. _Maura, you have no idea._ Jane thought to herself as they headed back towards Serenity.

* * *

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Jane asked with a hopeful expression.

"I'm sorry, Janey," Tommy said, dropping the wrench and wiping the sweat from his forehead with a greasy hand, "but I'm no mechanic."

"Yeah, but you're the best we've got right now." Jane said, helping her brother to his feet. He had managed to crawl under the engine to take a look at the situation, but since his arm was still in a sling, he was having difficulty maneuvering Serenity's cramped engine room.

"You need a proper engineer, Sis." He said, wiping his hand on his already filthy pants.

"I can't afford to pay the crew I've got," Jane said kicking the engine grumpily, "no less pay an engineer. You and Korsak will have to do for now."

"Who says I'm sticking around?" Tommy said, teasingly elbowing his sister.

"Maura says." Jane said eyeing her little brother suspiciously. She didn't appreciate how he was already making to run off.

"She does, does she?" Tommy said with a satisfied grin.

"She says you still need plenty of time to recover." Jane added quickly. She silently cursed herself for encouraging her brother to think Maura thought of him as anything more than a patient—whether it be true or not.

"Oh, well I've got to a least get this ol' thing up and swinging again." He said gesturing to his bandaged left shoulder.

"Well you better be sticking around for a lot longer than that!" Jane said in mocking rebuke. "You can't go breaking Ma's heart again, just taking off like you did last time."

Tommy gave a weak smile and shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno…" he trailed off as Jane's glare grew stern.

"So, what's the diagnosis, Doc?" Korsak said with laugh. He had just returned to the ship to check up on Tommy's progress. Tommy might be good with his hands, but Korsak didn't trust him to know much about engines, especially old models like Serenity.

"The starboard engine is shot." Tommy said with a shrug of his shoulders. "If you ask me, you should just get rid of it and start from scratch."

"Good thing we aren't asking you, then." Korsak retorted, Jane's expression mirroring his sentiment.

"Hey," Tommy said, tossing his hand up defensively, "I never claimed to be an expert or anything. But ask anybody and they'll tell you the same thing. She's a goner."

"Who's a goner?" Maura interjected curiously. "I heard someone talking about a diagnosis. Does someone need my assistance?"

"We were just talkin' about ol' Serenity." Tommy said with a bright smile.

"Is there really no way to patch the engine up?" Maura said, peaking at the machinery curiously.

"I'm surprised she hasn't given out already." Korsak admitted, frowning at the doctor, who was inspecting a piece with an inquisitive expression. The Sergeant didn't know much about engines other than what he had learned as a pilot in the war, but he figured Tommy was right after all. "Yep, Serenity's a goner."

"No." Maura said simply, smiling up at them triumphantly. "A new port compression coil should do the trick for now."

Jane, Tommy and Korsak simply blinked at the doctor, speechless. No one figured Maura knew anything about engines, no less those from Firefly class ships. All three of them stared at her with their mouths slightly agape until Maura finally continued, wondering if she had made some impossible mistake.

"Serenity is a midbulk transport ship with a radion-accelerator core… classcode 03-K64, I believe, also known as a Firefly;" she said with small nod, "the port compression coils were a common problem—probably why they went out of production some time before the War. However, it's an easily fixed problem."

Jane suddenly grew very excited, tossing her arms around Maura. It was the doctor's turn to be shocked. She had expected Jane to be grateful, but she did not anticipate Jane would be so elated that she would grasp her tightly in a hug. Normally, such physical contact would make Maura feel very uncomfortable but Jane's gratitude was so brief and sincere that she gave no objections.

"Maur," Jane said holding the honey blond by the shoulders and smiling joyfully, "you have no idea how happy you've just made me."

"I…" Maura said, trying not to blush. She glanced up at those soft, coffee brown eyes, noting the strange palpitating sensation in her chest. "What did I do?"

Jane released her, allowing Maura's heart rate to slowly settle. The brunette heaved a loud sigh of relief and laughed. Maura and the others followed Jane down the hall to the kitchen as she finally explained.

"Tommy here nearly had me convinced I would have to resort to hiring a mechanic." Jane said, taking her spot at the head of the table.

"You really should have a professional on board, Jane." Maura said, still not sure why the information she had given her would have elicited such a response. "I'm sure there's a mechanic here on Persephone that's looking for work."

"And the only one willing to fix up Serenity for the spare change we can give 'em is Giovanni." Korsak said, smiling at a grimacing Jane.

"Oh, Giovanni!" Angela said, taking her seat at the table. "Janey, isn't he that nice young man that—"

"He's nice alright," Frost said, passing a bowl to Jane with a teasing smile, "Nice to Jane, that is."

"Shut-up, Frost." Jane said, snatching the bowl from her partner and giving him a menacing look.

"Who's Giovanni?" Maura asked conversationally, accepting a bowl from an agitated looking Captain.

"No one." Jane said irritably.

"Oh, Janey." Angela said, shaking her head at her daughter. "I wish you weren't so picky when it came to men."

"Oh, so you'd rather I was a slut, Ma?" Jane said petulantly.

"Jane!" her mother rebuked her. "Don't talk like that!"

"Ma!" Jane groaned. "I told you, Giovanni isn't my type."

"Too manly." Frankie whispered to Maura with a grin, but his sister heard him and kicked him hard under the table.

"He's…" Jane struggled to find a word that fit all the reasons Giovanni would never win her attentions. Finally she settled with an anticlimactic "…boring."

"What ever happened to Graham?" Angela said before Maura had the opportunity to inquire what Jane meant.

"Ma!" Jane objected. She really didn't like it when her mother got on this topic.

"What?" Angela said, innocently, "I thought he was nice, that's all."

"Ma!" Jane said, stabbing her fork into her food angrily.

Most at the table chuckled at this exchange but soon the dinner table became quiet as they started to eat. Maura was particularly silent as she wondered about all that had been said. She couldn't help but be curious about this Giovanni character, whom Jane seemed so relieved to not have to deal with, at least for now. She also wondered who Graham was. Were these men past lovers of Jane's?

Jane chewed her food slowly, glaring at her mother threateningly. The last thing she needed right now was for her mother to go on another matchmaking craze. She didn't need a man to be happy, and she didn't want one. Jane just wished her mother could understand how hard it was for her build honest, lasting relationships with anyone in her line of work. Angela only made things more difficult by trying to set her up with every willing male suitor that came along.

She knew her mother loved her and was simply trying to look out for her the only way she knew how. But Jane wished Angela would just leave the issue alone. Jane would much rather let romance happen where it did, than try and force it like her mother tried to do. Something in her told her that the person she was looking for would come along eventually. Little did she know that she had already met that person. The only question was how long it would take for Jane to realize it.

(to be continued)


	6. Chapter 6 To the Rescue

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: Review make my day, so please leave even a short comment!

* * *

Chapter 6 – To the Rescue

"Have you seen Maura?" Angela inquired, popping into Jane's view quite suddenly.

"Ma!" Startled, Jane jumped up, banging her head on a steal gear of the engine. The brunette had been spending a good part of the last hour trying how to figure out how to get where she needed to be to install the newly purchased port compression coil. She crawled out from underneath the equipment covered in dust and grease, her black curls tangled and her face covered in grime and sweat.

She had been so involved in her work that she had not noticed her mother wander into the engine room looking for the doctor. Unfortunately, neither her nor Korsak were anywhere to be found when Jane had arrived back with the necessary piece. Eager to be on her way, Jane had decided to give fixing it a try. Tommy had been assisting her initially but had wandered off sometime after she threw a wrench at him crossly for being no help what so ever.

"No." Jane said, wiping the hair from her face. "Haven't seen her since breakfast."

"What are you doing in here anyway? Weren't Korsak and Tommy going to fix that thing?" Angela said, making a wild gesture in the general direction of the engine.

Angela pursed her lips at Jane's messy appearance disapprovingly. The brunette moved quickly away from the older woman, sensing she was about to pounce on her and start grooming her forcefully. When she narrowed her eyes at her daughter suspiciously Jane attempted to distract her mother by changing the subject.

"It sure would be a lot easier if one of them were here to tell me where the hell this goes." Jane said, holding up the new part.

"What about over there?" Angela said, pointing to a piece on top of the engine that looked exactly like the piece Jane was holding.

"Are you kidding me?" Jane whined, annoyed at her mother's lucky guess, "I've been looking for the old compression coil for hours and you just point it out at random?"

"Hey!" Her mother said with mock offense. "I could have known where that condense thingy goes!"

"Uh huh?" Jane said with a smirk and a raise of her eyebrow. "What are you looking for Maura for anyway?"

"I was hoping she would go to the market with me to help me pick up some items to spice up our meals a bit. You know, make them a little more _bearable._" Angela emphasized the last word with a scolding look at her daughter.

Having no honest defense, Jane decided to ignore the remark. Instead she answered Angela's earlier question. "Maura went down to the docks early this morning. She said she had some business to take care of or something. Korsak is probably still out looking for passengers. Tommy was around here somewhere. He was helping—if you could call it that."

"What kind of business did Maura have down at the Eavesdown Docks? I thought she was from Beaumonde." Angela asked curiously, peaking over Jane's shoulder as she reached over top the starboard engine and attempted to remove the old part.

"Yeah…" Jane said, struggling to get her hands in the tight space. She really wished her mother would leave her to concentrate but she knew just how likely that was. Instead, she decided to appease her mother's curiosity in the hopes that once satisfied she would leave her alone. "…but that doesn't mean she doesn't have family or something around here."

"At the docks, though?" Angela said, violating Jane's space even more by pressing closely to her side.

"I dunno." Jane said with a shrug. She hadn't really thought about why Maura had gone down there. Really it was none of her business. Maura and her were still only acquaintances. She saw no need to know what the doctor was up to all the time. As long as she didn't get the Serenity crew into any trouble, Jane told herself, she could care less what Maura did with her time.

"But, do you really think it's safe for someone like her to be down there all alone? It will be getting dark soon, and there… there are wicked people about these days." Angela said, her motherly instinct clearly very strong for the new crewmember.

"'_Wicked people about?'"_ Jane mimicked her with a chuckle. "Ma, the Eavesdown Docks are no more dangerous than any other place on Persephone."

"I honestly doubt that." Angela said, frowning at the brunette. "Besides, what about that man that's been after her?"

Jane spun around suddenly. "She told you about that?" She said in a slightly insulted and disappointed tone. Jane did not know why but she had assumed that she was the only one the doctor had told about that. For some reason it irked her that she had not been Maura's sole confidant.

"Yes." Angela said, looking at Jane suspiciously, "She mentioned that she was avoiding some sort of stalker. Why? Do you know anything about him?"

"No." Jane said. It wasn't really a lie; Maura really hadn't talked much about the mysterious man pursuing her. Apparently the doctor had managed to pass it off as something far less serious to Angela. Jane decided to let the older woman continue in ignorance.

"Don't worry, Ma." Jane said, placing a reassuring hand on Angela's shoulder. "She'll be fine."

But Jane was not nearly as confident as she acted. In fact, as the day waned and the evening grew dark, she started to worry that the doctor really was in trouble. What if Maura had gone looking for information from Badger? She had seemed very keen on meeting him when Jane had mentioned the kind of business he was in, especially his connections to other influential businessmen from Core planets.

What if she was mugged or attacked? What if she had been abducted? What if her would-be assassin had finally succeeded?

Jane's mind was a hodgepodge of worried thoughts about the doctor as she prepared the ship for the next morning's take off. In fact, had she not been so distracted about where Maura was and what she was up to Jane probably would have been more careful to ensure that the apparatus she was fixing was properly installed. As it was, the brunette hastily applied the piece, washed the grease from her hands and headed to the Eavesdown Docks to investigate.

* * *

"What can I do for ya, Doctor Isles?" Badger said, his cockney accent extra thick in the cool evening air. The enigmatic businessman was seated at his desk, his feet kicked up top a small pile of bills and his fingers interlaced in a relaxed but contemplative gesture. He gave Maura an appreciative smile with a subtle raise of his brow.

The doctor smiled nervously, second-guessing the decision to meet with Badger unaccompanied. She had not wanted to inconvenience any of the Serenity crew by asking them to escort her, but as she stood in the dimly lit office quite alone with the disheveled looking business man she started to wonder if she should not have been more concerned for her safety.

Unlike the day before, Badger's "associates"—which was how he had introduced his armed guards—had remained in the hallway rather than join the two of them in his office. Apparently, they had not considered Maura very threatening. That, or, Badger had quite purposefully arranged for them to be left alone. Whether intentional or not, the privacy of their discussion was very unnerving.

Maura stood resolutely in front of the businessman's desk. She struggled with how to bring about her inquiry. She knew very little about this man's intentions or about his motivations. Even if he knew anything about the man that was after her and was willing to provide such information, she had no way of knowing if what he told her was true.

After a deep, calming breath she spoke, supposing she had nothing to lose. "Paddy Doyle…" she started, but her voice fizzled out as Badger's expression changed significantly.

"What about 'im?" Badger said, setting his feet down on the floor and sitting up straight. His smile disappeared and his look grew wary. He frowned at Maura suspiciously, as if she had visibly transformed before his eyes.

The doctor was surprised at Badger's discomfort with the topic. As far as she knew Doyle was a common name among criminals like Badger that considered themselves businessmen. She knew no reason why he should feel uneasy about her asking about him. Still, at least that meant he knew _something_.

"So, you do know of him?" Maura asked nervously.

"There ain't a businessman in this system that don't _know of _him." Badger said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Hardly a soul that hasn't heard a whisper of 'im in a dark alley or corner."

"Yes," Maura nodded, though she was sure he was exaggerating, "but have you ever met him? Have you ever done business with him?"

Badger eyed her apprehensively, as if wondering if she was serious or if she might be playing with him. For a moment he looked as if he had decided to answer her but instead he replied with a question, "What does a nice young woman like you want with a dirty crook like Paddy Doyle, anyway?"

Maura wondered who Badger was to call anyone a dirty crook like he was better than them, but she decided not to comment on that. Instead, she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. She unfolded the worn paper carefully and handed it to the man who was possibly her only source of information on the person drawn on the paper.

"Is this Patrick Doyle?" Maura said, pointing to the rough sketch she had made of the man who she had seen briefly before each of the last four attempts on her life.

Badger briefly skimmed his eyes over the depiction of an older man, mid to late 60s, with a balding head and dark eyes. Badger handed the picture back to the honey blond almost immediately. She could tell by the spark of apprehension in his eyes that Badger had indeed recognized the man in the picture, but rather than acknowledging this he simply sat back in his chair and looked up at her curiously.

"I don't know what ya want with a man like 'im, but I wouldn't suggest you get mixed up in the kind o' business he's into. I'd think ya have enough o' trouble on ya hands dealing with the mayhem Rizzoli likes to get 'erself involved with." He said thrumming his fingers together contemplatively.

"I think Jane is more than capable of taking care of herself." Maura replied assuredly.

"Yeah," Badger agreed with a nod, "but can she take care of you and your crew as well? She's mighty good at making enemies of Serenity, and she's not too good at making friends. Playin' nice is what it takes to make it in this world, Doctor, and Jane, she ain't no good at playin' nice."

"If _playing nice_ involves making deals with crooks like you, Badger, I think I'd rather take my chances with Jane and the reviled Serenity crew." Maura said irritably.

Her agitation seemed very sudden and out of place to Badger, who had assumed that Maura felt little to no kinship to the Captain. He had met some of her boarders before, there had even been a few that had stayed on with her for some time. But usually they did nothing more than tag along until the lucrative jobs became scarce.

Maura was unlike any other of Jane's passengers or crew that he had ever met. She did not belong in an undeveloped settlement like the ones on Persephone, especially not flying around on a piece of junk like Serenity. From her soft, well-groomed hair to her spotless layered dress and thick, frilled coat she looked like something Badger rarely saw outside of books and billboards.

The man was so shocked by Maura's sudden outburst that he did not even have enough time to be offended at her remark before Maura spoke up again. She might not have been happy that she had to deal with a greedy theif that would sell medicine and supplies for four or five times their cost, but she desperately needed information and he may be her only source.

"If you are unwilling to help me than there's nothing I can do about that, but I would appreciate it if you just answered the question. Is the man in that picture Paddy Doyle or not?" Maura said determinedly.

"Yeah." Badger said with a nod, "But whats ya want to know for?"

Maura let out a small sigh, her suspicion finally confirmed. But her relief was brief. Now that she knew her pursuer was in fact the black market businessman Patrick Doyle, she was no safer than she had been a moment ago. She started to grow anxious. If Patty Doyle was after her than she was putting every member of the Serenity crew at risk. Jane was especially in danger, because she had demonstrated on more than one occasion that she would protect any member of her crew with her life.

"I believe he's the man who's been trying to kill me." Maura said offhandedly, not really thinking about whether it would be a good idea to reveal this bit of information to a man like Badger.

"Trust me, Doc, if Paddy Doyle wanted ya dead there wouldn't be no _tryin;'_ you'd be long gone." Badger said confidently.

Suddenly there was a commotion in the hallway outside. They heard shouting and several bodies being thrown into the wall and the floor. They both jumped back in surprise as a breathless and disheveled looking Jane burst through the door and nearly stumbled into Maura.

"Maura!—Badger!—Let me—what the hell?!" Jane said looking between the two of them as she still struggled to free herself from two of Badger's guards, who had leapt in after her. She kneed one in the gut and ducked a punch from the other. Maura dived out of the way as the fist came dangerously close to clipping her in the shoulder.

"Jane, what are you—?" Maura said as she stumbled back.

"Let her go!" Jane said nodding towards the honey blond. "Or I'll kick your ass Badger!"

"But Jane, he hasn't—" Maura tried to explain but the brunette was too busy tackling the last guard into the wall.

"For Pete's sake!" Badger hollered at the guard, "Let 'er be. That's no way to treat our guests!"

"Guests?!" Jane said, freezing in place as the man slid to the floor. "What do you mean _guests?_"

"Mr. Badger has not kidnapped me, Jane." Maura explained. "I came here to get some information from him."

"Well," Jane said, a painful frown on her face as she rolled a sore shoulder, "what's with all the guards around the door."

Jane gestured to the semi-conscious men huddled on the floor and in the hallway outside. The last one had been particularly brawny and difficult to take down, but the groan he let out indicated he would much rather stay slumped against the wall than pursue the furious brunette any longer.

For her part, Jane looked relatively unharmed. There would probably be a bruise where the butt of a gun had grazed her eyebrow. Also, she was rather certain that she had dislocated her shoulder with that last tackle. But, for a fight of one against seven she figured she had fared well.

"Doctor Isles and me were simply havin' a private conversation." Badger said, raising his brow and smiling suggestively.

"Did he do anything to you?!" Jane said approaching Maura with a worried expression.

"No, of course not!" Maura said, slightly offended. Did Jane really think she could not take care of herself at all?

"I wouldn't put it past him." Jane mumbled irritably. She looked over Maura carefully. Jane doubted she would lie to her, but she just couldn't think of a reason why Maura would let herself be locked in a room alone with a man like Badger.

"I think we were about finished, right Doc?" the businessman said eyeing Jane with irritation.

"I suppose we were." Maura said solemnly. She supposed that even if Jane had not interrupted it was unlikely that Badger would have revealed much about Paddy Doyle that she had not already heard in rumors. Maura would have to find out why he was after her some other way.

"Well then, it was nice to see ya again Doc Isles." Badger said with a smile and a nod.

Jane eyed the man threateningly before letting her and Maura be escorted out of his office by one of his "associates." She did not like the way that Badger looked at Maura, or the way he smiled after her. But they had been lucky to even leave Badger's place of business reasonably unharmed. With a protective arm behind Maura's back Jane lead the doctor out into the street and into the chilly night air.

After a long awkward silence Maura suddenly spoke, her voice shrill and agitated, "What was that all about?"

"Excuse me?!" Jane said, stopping dead in her tracks, dumbfounded.

"What the hell were you doing bursting in there out of nowhere? Tackling those guards, nearly trampling over me and rudely interrupting Mr. Badger like that?!" Maura said fiercely.

"What?!" Jane yelled indignantly, stepping away from Maura and staring at her in angry shock. "I was trying to rescue you!"

"Rescue me?" Maura said, caught half between shock and laughter. She couldn't believe the conclusions Jane jumped to. "I told you, I came here myself!"

"How was I supposed to know that?!" Jane hollered. "You left this morning. No one has seen you all day. I go looking for you and I end up at Badger's place and they say you are there but I can't go in. That man is a dirty thief and he looks at you like a big, juicy piece of meat! What am I supposed think?!"

"You aren't _supposed_ to think anything!" Maura yelled, growing flustered. "Why can't you just let me to take care of myself?! I never asked you to go risking your life every time I get into a dangerous situation."

"You don't have to ask, Maur!" Jane shouted.

"Well, I don't want you doing it!" Maura said, her anger diffusing into anguish. "I don't need anyone else getting killed trying to protect me."

Jane's fury melted away as Maura's eyes grew moist. Her heart ached seeing the pain in those hazel eyes. If she could she would do anything to make that pain go away.

"Maur…" Jane said soothingly. "I'm sorry."

She didn't know why but Jane felt the irresistible urge to wrap her arms around the honey blond. And so she grasped Maura firmly in a hug. Maura said nothing, she simply sobbed into Jane's shoulder. The brunette patiently waited for the crying to cease. She figured Maura would explain if she wanted to.

Maura grasped at Jane for some time, letting the renewed sorrow wash over her. Normally, she felt awkward and silly when she cried. People seemed to become uncomfortable and judgmental when she cried, probably because tears came so easy to her. But Jane did not retract; she did not grow impatient. She simply held Maura, stroking her hair softly.

Finally, after a long moment of silence between them, Maura's tears finally dried and she stepped back. She blushingly looked up at Jane with a grateful smile. Jane smiled brightly down at her, her russet eyes filled with some concern but mostly understanding.

"I'm sorry." Maura said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"It's okay." Jane replied, the ache in her heart easing as a smile spread on the doctor's face. "I shouldn't have stormed in there like that. I'm sorry."

"No." Maura said shaking her head with a laugh. "That really wasn't necessary."

"I was worried about you." Jane said shortly. "Badger can't be trusted."

"I know." Maura said with a nod. "I shouldn't have gone alone. It's just that… well ever since my father…"

Maura trailed off, her eyes growing teary again as she recalled what had happened. She tried to continue but could do little more than take deep, calming breaths for a long time. Jane felt her heart breaking as her friend struggled to speak.

"It's okay, Maur, you don't have to—" Jane said, attempting to hug her again.

"No." Maura said resolutely, refusing to let herself be overcome again. "I want to tell you. I _need _to tell someone this. I haven't talked to anyone about this, about anything, for months."

Jane gave her an honest smile and an understanding nod. She didn't know why Maura was suddenly opening up to her, but if that's what she needed Jane would listen and do her best to understand. They may have only met a week ago, but they had spent much of that time together on Serenity and Jane felt a stronger tie to Maura than she had ever felt with any of her crew, aside from maybe Frost and Korsak.

"Ten months ago I went to visit my parents on Beaumonde." Maura finally started as they slowly walked down the dusty street. "My parents had never been very close for as long as I can remember, but they stayed together out of propriety. Not long after they sent me off to school, however, my mother moved to the western coastline and my father stayed back east.

"I had already been on Beaumonde visiting with my mother for several days before I traveled to the eastern coastline to visit with my father. I had noticed on several occasions the feeling of being watched. I originally dismissed the feeling, but then I noticed a man following us. The same man followed me east and I spotted him while out walking with my father."

Jane listened intently. Maura occasionally looked at the brunette nervously, as if worried she may grow bored or uncomfortable. Jane simply nodded at her encouragingly, linking her arm in Maura's as they made there way out of town towards the open plain where Serenity lay in waiting.

"I tried to explain to my father that we were in danger but we were attacked before I could say anything." Maura said, her voice remaining fairly steady as she held tightly to Jane's arm. "And it was that man, Patrick Doyle. He tackled my father and I to the ground. I heard shots. The man pulled a gun and fired. I don't know where, but when I was finally able to get up but my father… he… he still had his arms around me."

Jane squeezed Maura's arm and looked at her with a pitifully sad smile. She knew what it was like to lose a father. Maybe not in the physical sense, her father was probably still alive out there somewhere, but Jane knew what it was like to realize you will never see him again. At least Maura's last memories of her father were of him trying to protect her, not leaving her and her brothers to fend for themselves and leaving their mother heartbroken.

She tried to shake these thoughts from her mind as she comforted the doctor. What Jane's father had done years ago was irrelevant now. Maura needed her to be here in this moment, to comfort her in her loss.

"He tried to save me, Jane." Maura said, stopping suddenly and looking at the brunette desperately, willing her to just understand.

"All my life I never thought my parent's cared about me at all." Maura said, tears slipping from the corners of her hazel eyes. "They sent me off to boarding school when I was so young, and they never really came to visit. Even when I visited them as an adult they never really had time for me. But when Paddy Doyle came after me, and the bullets started flying my father threw his arms around me and he put himself in between me and the danger."

Maura was crying again, softly and calmly. She wrapped her arms around Jane and let herself be held again. Jane smiled weakly and waited patiently for Maura's breathing to calm again. She almost felt disappointed when Maura finally pulled away, having liked the warmth of Maura's arms around her and the tickling of Maura's hair on her neck.

"I don't want anyone else getting hurt on account of me." Maura said, searching Jane's eyes. "I don't think I could stand it if I were to lose anyone else."

"Maur," Jane said, touching the doctor's shoulder in a gentle gesture of assurance, "you aren't going to lose anyone else, especially me."

"I'm not so sure about that." Maura said, smiling at her. "What with the way that you go barging into places making wild accusations."

"Hey!" Jane said as if offended. "I do _not_ make _wild_ accusations!"

"Well you should at least have a bit more tact when attempting to _rescue_ one of your crew." Maura teased.

"Usually people know better than to mess with Captain Rizzoli's crewmembers." Jane joked. "I'm not used to having to rescue them."

Maura gave her a smile and said, "Well at least Badger knows now not to mess with the invincible Jane Rizzoli."

"I'm not sure _invincible_ is the right word." Jane said, holding her shoulder gingerly.

Until that moment, Maura had been too upset to notice but Jane had been holding her right shoulder for some time now. In fact, when she had hugged the doctor, she had avoided wrapping her right arm around her very tightly. Moving the arm at all caused a considerable amount of discomfort, but Jane wasn't the type to complain.

"You have an anterior dislocation of the humerus!" Maura said, grasping the brunette's arm a bit suddenly—and more firmly than Jane would have liked.

"Ow!" Jane said, stepping away and holding her arm protectively, "I'm not sure what that means but I don't find it very humorous."

Maura looked at Jane, trying to read the sarcasm in Jane's voice. The brunette's smile revealed her surprising ability to cover pain with comedy. The doctor took a moment to appreciate how Jane was even now trying to protect her, even if it was unnecessary and silly. Maura was a doctor, seeing Jane hurt might make her worry some, but mostly she was just reacting instinctively to fix what was broken.

"It means you dislocated your shoulder." Maura explained, touching Jane's arm much softer now.

"Well then, why didn't you say that?" Jane said, still toying with her.

"I did." Maura said simply, raising an eyebrow at her. "Now do you want me to fix it or not?"

"I don't know…" Jane said with a teasing look. "The last time you _fixed_ me you said it would only hurt a bit and…"

"Well this is going to hurt significantly more." Maura stated, looking her right in the eye, her hands touching the Jane's injured shoulder softly. "But it appears to be uncomplicated, so I can probably force it back into place."

"Force it?" Jane said with a gulp. It wasn't the first time she had dislocated her shoulder. The last time Korsak had to use all the strength he had to relocate the bone. That had been some of the worst pain she had ever felt. "Are you sure you can do that all by yourself?"

"I'm much stronger than I look." Maura assured her with a nod.

"I don't know…" Jane said warily.

"Jane, this isn't the first time I've reduced an anterior dislocation." Maura said, grasping Jane at the wrist so she could not walk away.

"Shouldn't we go back to the infirmary?" Jane said, pointing to Serenity off in the distance.

"Your infirmary is poorly stocked." Maura noted. "Besides, there's little I could do there except tie you down."

This time Jane gulped audibly. She wasn't sure what was so distracting about Maura mentioning bondage so casually, but it allowed the doctor the chance to grasp her shoulder quite suddenly. Before Jane had time to do little more than groan in protest, Maura forcefully pulled and manipulated her arm, causing the bone to slide back into place.

Jane let out a howl in protest and stumbled backward. After a moment the searing pain dulled and was replaced by a sharp ache. She grasped her shoulder protectively and stared at the doctor indignantly.

"What?" Maura said with a shrug of her shoulders, "If I hadn't done that you would have gone on whining."

"I was not _whining!_" Jane retorted.

Maura smiled. Jane could not help but grin as well. There was something about the look in Maura's hazel eyes, and the way her smile spread across her whole face. It was just so hard to stay mad at her.

(to be continued)


	7. Chapter 7 Surprise, Surprise

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

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A/N: First off, I'm REALLY REALLY sorry it took me so long to update. Life has been hectic and writer's block has been cursing me. But here it is at last!

As usual, reviews make my day, so please leave even a short comment!

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Chapter 7 – Surprise, Surprise

It was nearly three weeks before Serenity reached its ultimate destination, Regina—the second planet in the Georgia System—for numerous reasons. Firstly, Serenity had ended up taking on one of their largest groups while on their way off of Persephone. This meant that they would have quite a lot of stops on their way out of the system. After restocking the ship, patching up what they could afford and dividing up a measly salary for each of them, they were left with barely enough money to refuel the engines. So, without taking on several boarders requesting destinations quite out of the way, Serenity would barely have been able to take off, no less make it all the way to Paradiso.

But the crew took it all in stride. Korsak and Frost kept themselves busy piloting the ship and scanning the radio for news of bounties, respectfully. Tommy, Frankie and Angela occupied themselves by bickering and playing table games. Maura took to diagnosing every passenger with some disease or disorder. Jane, on the other hand, found herself growing increasingly restless with each passing day; the minutes passing like hours as she sat in the bridge staring out into the stars.

The trouble was all Jane and the crew were doing was scraping by, just trying to survive. They were floating on through space with no real sense of purpose, no final destination. After they reached Regina and dropped off the supplies at Paradiso, they would again be on their way with another shipment of cargo and passengers. There was no glory in their work, nor was there ever any rest.

"Here you are." The brunette heard a soft, affectionate voice from over her shoulder.

Jane turned just as the speaker was laying a hand on her shoulder, as if gently trying to coax her from a deep sleep. She gave the woman a startled smile and the tense look on her diffused. Jane's irritation melted into contentment.

"Maur." Jane said dazedly, thinking maybe she had dozed off without noticing. "What are you doing up here?"

"Looking for you." Maura said, sitting down beside her with a warm smile.

"What for?" Jane said, her brow furrowing. "Is something wrong? Is someone hurt?"

"No, no!" Maura said, shaking her head and laughing, "Nothing is wrong."

"Oh," Jane said rubbing her eyes and then running her hands through her hair, "Sorry, I guess I'm just out of it."

"Have you still not been sleeping?" Maura said, her voice laden with concern.

"I'll be fine, Maura, you don't have to worry about me." Jane said with a subtle smile.

"Well I worry anyway." Maura said, examining Jane's face closely, "Chronic insomnia can be detrimental to your health. It can cause poor concentration, irritability, poor memory retention, impaired motor coordination—"

"I get it, I get it!" Jane said in an agitated tone.

"Not to mention what constant stress and sleeplessness can do to the complexion." Maura stated, casually indicating the dark circles under Jane's eyes.

"God, you sound like my mother!" Jane retorted pushing Maura away jokingly.

"I do?" Maura said with a proud smile. The doctor very much admired Angela. She was a strong and caring woman and had never been anything but kind to anyone as far as Maura knew. Mrs. Rizzoli was a bit hard on her children, but they all knew she nagged and rebuked them because she was trying to protect and care for them.

"Don't look so pleased." Jane said with a laugh. "That wasn't a compliment."

"Why shouldn't it be?" Maura said, hitting Jane playfully, "Your mother is a wonderful person."

"Yeah…" Jane said her tone starting out sarcastic but her voice fading as she turned to look out the window again. "I guess she's not all that bad."

Jane stared out at the stars passing by, lost in thought. Maura stared a Jane, a contemplative look on her face as she wondered what the brunette was thinking about.

The two had spent a lot of time together in the past few weeks. Unlike most other people, Jane was very understanding and patient with Maura's quirkiness. She still teased Maura endlessly about her encyclopedic tendencies, but there was always a hint of admiration masked in her sarcastic retorts, made ever the more evident by the wide grin on that would envelop her face.

A long time passed with no words between them. It hadn't been awkward or uncomfortable to either of them, but when they suddenly became conscious of it they smiled blushingly at each other. It seemed strange to Jane that she was content simply being in Maura's company, to the point that she would temporarily forget her anxiousness and could simply be.

But now Jane had started to wonder why the doctor had that effect on her. She never enjoyed someone's presence like she appreciated Maura's. It was like just knowing she was near to Maura made her heart swell happily.

The brunette peaked shyly at the honey blond from the corner of her eye. The doctor was smiling contentedly, at her. Jane smiled back. Maura gave her that extra adorable grin and Jane couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Maura giggled.

"Nothing." Jane shrugged, still trying to contain her laughter.

"No, really?" Maura said, batting at the brunette playfully.

"I don't know…" Jane said, peering into Maura's hazel eyes. "You're just…"

Jane's voice broke off with her courage. She had wanted to say something like "wonderful," "gorgeous," or just "amazing," but not knowing the reasons for these sentiments she started questioning whether she should say anything at all. Instead she finished lamely with "…different."

"How so?" Maura inquired with curiosity.

Jane shrugged again, hiding her blushing face as she leaned back and dipped her hat low over her face. "I dunno," she said casually, folding her hands over chest and pretending to doze, "you're just… different. It's refreshing."

"Am I a tall drink of water?" Maura said, sounding almost serious, but there was a smirk quivering on her lips.

Jane smiled, raising her hat up to peak at the doctor with one eye open. Apparently the Captain's sassiness had been wearing off on her. She laughed appreciatively, "Yeah, something like that."

With that Maura cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow at her suggestively. Jane frowned at her for a moment before realizing what she had mistakenly implied. Suddenly, she felt uneasy again. Jane sat up stiffly, her palms growing sweaty and her heart racing. She hadn't meant it like that.

"What I meant was…" Jane stuttered. _Oh no, not again, _she thought to herself, _Jane, she's just being silly, there's no way…_

"Here you are, Janey!" Tommy suddenly said, patting the brunette on the shoulder and giving the doctor a bright smile, "Hello, Maura."

"H-hello Tommy." Maura stammered, flustered by his sudden appearance. She gave him a rather forced smile, hoping he did not notice the flushed color of her cheeks. Maura glanced quickly at Jane, who was shifting uncomfortably in her chair. She wandered why the exchange between her and Jane suddenly felt so salacious.

"What do you want?" Jane said rather irritably, feeling as if her brother had interrupted them quite rudely.

Tommy didn't even glance at his sister, his eyes were locked on Maura. His flirtatious smile widened and he winked subtly at the doctor, "Korsak was looking for you… and I was hoping to find Maura with you."

"What for?" the women said simultaneously, Jane with a rather indignant tone, Maura with cheery curiosity.

"I thought we could finish up our game." Tommy nodded to Maura as Jane stood up with an agitated sigh. "I think I can beat her this time."

"What did Korsak want?" Jane said, stretching with a groan.

"I dunno." Tommy said with a shrug, his sister's disinterest hardly bothered him, he was too busy eyeing Maura.

"Your brother is quite the chess player." Maura said, eyeing Jane closely, wondering why her mood had so abruptly changed.

"I'm sure he is." Jane said with a shrug, leaving the two of them to go find her partner.

Maura frowned after the Captain, a small pout revealing her injured feelings. Hadn't they been laughing together a moment ago? Where had joyful Jane gone?

* * *

"What's got ya down, Jane?" Korsak said with a curious frown at the brunette as she wandered into the cargo bay.

"Who says I'm down?" Jane said with a casual shrug of her shoulders, forcing a smile.

Korsak raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a knowing look. "I know you, Rizzoli, you hate all this back and forth with cargo. Besides, it's plain as the frown on your face that you're frustrated that we haven't had any leads in nearly a month."

"It's not like we've had much time to go hunting for them." Jane said with an offhanded shrug, kicking a loose bolt idly and avoiding Korsak's gaze. Sometimes it was unsettling how easily her old partner could read her. She and Frost got along very well, and they worked together like a well-oiled machine, but Korsak had been there from the beginning; he knew her.

"To be honest, I'm surprised you've made it this long without stirring up some sort of trouble." Korsak said with a smirk, recollecting the last time they had gone several weeks without any bounties or leads on Hoyt.

"Hey!" Jane said crossly, "That guy was acting suspicious! Besides, he called me a nosey bitch!"

Korsak laughed heartily. Jane smiled, her mood lifting some. Her partner knew just when and how to tease her to get her to lighten up.

"Heaven forbid I ever have to go looking in the cargo bay for my wife's _personal items._" Korsak said with a laugh.

"You'd have to keep a wife long enough." Jane said, rolling her eyes. Korsak responded with an annoyed look, but otherwise seemed unfazed. She decided to change the subject. "Tommy said you were looking for me?"

"Oh, yeah…" Korsak said, suddenly becoming very uneasy, "…that."

"What is it, Korsak?" Jane said, suddenly becoming very nervous. She did not like the worried look on his face.

Korsak gestured for her to follow him. He led her to the back of the cargo bay where the passengers stored their cargo. He pointed to an old, black chest with black leather straps and gold buckles. In faded gold lettering on the front it read "C. Hoyt."

"I don't have any idea how it got there." Korsak answered Jane's questioning look. "I've been checking the cargo every morning like clockwork. Nothing comes in here or goes out without me knowing. But this one just appeared out of nowhere."

"How is that possible?" Jane said, walking around the chest, examining it closely. It was sitting aside from the rest of the crates, in plain view from the cargo bay entryway. There was no way it had simply gone unnoticed. It had been placed there intentionally.

"It isn't possible." Korsak said, kneeling down as if to unclasped the buckles.

"No!" Jane said grabbing his arm forcefully. "There's no way to know what he put in there!"

"So you think it really is Hoyt's?" Korsak asked cautiously.

"I think _C. Hoyt_ is a bit more than coincidence." Jane said shifting uneasily. She could feel the terror rolling around in her stomach making her feel dizzy and nauseous.

"But what does it mean?" Korsak said, standing up and eyeing Jane carefully.

"I don't know…" she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.

"Did you want to open it, Jane?" Korsak asked. He knew the honest answer would be a resolute "no," but he also knew the brunette's curiosity would eventually triumph over the sickening fear. It was better to get it over with and deal with whatever twisted message Hoyt had left for her.

Jane was silent, her face pale. She was finding it difficult to breathe. The ship suddenly felt very unsteady, at if it were rocking erratically this way and that. Her mind suddenly started to race.

The only way that this piece of luggage could suddenly appear there was if someone had placed it there. Considering they had not made any stops for several days this meant that someone on Serenity had been keeping the chest in their bunk and had moved it here with the distinct purpose of getting Jane's attention.

For a brief moment Jane worried that Hoyt himself might have put the message there. Serenity was not without many places to hide. Still, the likelihood that a mastermind like Charles Hoyt would lower himself to hiding in a maintenance tunnel for three days seemed unlikely.

However, the realization that the monster himself was not the culprit was not very comforting. What that meant was that Hoyt had yet another accomplice who was not only aboard the ship but was hidden among about a dozen other passengers, all of whom were just as likely as the next to be a suspect. The only hope they had of finding the psychopath was to open the chest and see what message was inside.

So, after a long deep breath, Jane nodded and Korsak knelt down and unbuckled the clasps. Slowly, cautiously, he lifted the lid, peaking inside as he did so. The chest made an eerie creaking sound as if it had not been opened in some time, and a puff of dust erupted from it. Korsak dropped the lid, causing a loud clacking sound. They both jumped back in surprise.

* * *

"Check!" Tommy said triumphantly, smiling up at the doctor.

"You haven't won yet." Maura said with smirk. She searched the board determinedly. Tommy could in fact capture her king on the next move, but he had made one fatal mistake. The youngest Rizzoli was very good at chess, but he failed to anticipate Maura's moves much further than a few turns ahead. Just like all the other Rizzoli's he had the tendency to go forth brazenly rather than strategically.

Maura, on the other hand, had a good deal of patience and an excellent memory. She could work out Tommy's moves long before he could. Still, the handsome man did have a few tricks up his sleeve. He sure made for an interesting chess partner.

"I can beat you in four moves." Maura said with a bright smile as she finished her turn.

"Wait—how?" Tommy said, frowning at the board. He was mentally kicking himself for paying more attention to his partner than to the game. He never was very good at multitasking.

"Are you ready to give up?" Maura teased.

"No way!" Tommy said, hovering his hand over his queen and frowning at the board.

Maura watched Tommy with a wide smile on her face. She really enjoyed the time the two of them spent together. He was handsome, surprisingly intelligent, and quite the charmer.

She watched his dark eyes flitting over the board. They were the same coffee brown eyes that all the Rizzoli children shared. Even though she could not explain how, she could see in those eyes the joy for life, compassion, and cleverness they all had.

Tommy's eyes were missing something, though. There was something different in another set of russet colored irises, something that piqued the doctor's curiosity from the very moment she had laid eyes on them. Maura tried to convince herself that the feeling she had was simply scientific curiosity. But this argument made less and less sense with every passing day she spent daydreaming about her friend.

"Hello? Maura?" Tommy said, waving his hand in front of the doctor's dazed looking face.

"Oh, yes!" Maura said looking startled. "Sorry."

"You okay?" he said with a worried frown.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." The honey blond said with a nod. Had she really just zoned out again? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude."

"It's fine." Tommy said with a shrug. "You just have other things on your mind."

"Yes, I'm very sorry." Maura said with an apologetic smile, "I do really enjoy playing with you, though."

"Me too." He said with a bright smile.

Maura's heart fluttered at the sight of that grin, it reminded her so much of Jane's. _Why does everything remind me of her?_ She thought to herself rather tersely.

"You sure you're okay?" Tommy asked kindly, noticing her agitated look.

"I guess I'm just worried…" Maura said quietly. She really didn't want to talk about what was really bothering her, but she found it hard to deflect the young man's questions. "…Jane's been gone for a long time."

Tommy looked up at the clock on the canteen wall. It had been several hours since Jane had gone down to talk to Korsak. He didn't really have any idea what the pilot wanted with his sister, but it seemed really important. The old man had looked very worried. He probably shouldn't have taken so long to tell Jane he was looking for her, but when he had stumbled upon the two of them talking on the bridge, he couldn't help but listen in for a while.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Jane." Tommy not so casually remarked.

The man's obvious annoyance was lost on Maura. She was not attuned to the tells of his moods like she was to Jane's. So, rather than realizing that he was clearly jealous of the attention she gave his sister, she simply nodded and agreed.

"I very much enjoy her company." Maura said with a dreamy smile. "Her and I have become good friends. I've never met anyone like her. She's so… so complex, baffling … fascinating really."

Maura blushed, realizing she had let her praise go a bit too far. She hoped Tommy hadn't noticed the way talking about Jane made her heart race and her breathing hitch. But her dilated pupils and quickened breath had not gone unnoticed by the youngest Rizzoli sibling.

"I can be complex…" he said rather quietly.

"You can be infuriating you mean." Jane said, clapping a hand on her brother's shoulder. He winced as her hand came into contact with the sore muscles of his bad arm.

"Ouch!" Tommy said, clasping at his injured arm protectively. "Watch it, Jane!"

"Sorry." Jane said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "Forgot."

"Right." Tommy said irritably.

"Where have you been?" Maura asked curiously once she had checked Tommy's shoulder to make sure no permanent damage had been caused.

"You're acting like my mother again." Jane said with a sigh.

"I am not." Maura insisted. "I'm just worried about you, that's all."

"Why would you be worried?" Jane frowned at her.

"Well I wasn't until you came strolling in here." Maura said, examining Jane's face closely.

"What, am I not aloud to walk around my own ship?" Jane said, defensively, avoiding Maura's gaze as she searched the mess for something to eat.

"No, of course not." Maura said, wishing Jane would look at her. "It's just that…" She looked over at the table, Tommy had wandered off; apparently he was rather annoyed at the both of them. "… you tend to… act overly cheerful when you're actually upset about something."

"What?" Jane said, turning on Maura suddenly. "I do not!"

"It's a coping mechanism." Maura said matter-of-factly.

"The only thing I have to cope with is yours and Ma's constant nagging." Jane said dropping down onto her chair at the table.

Maura pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at her. Jane was deflecting yet again. The brunette still might be able to fool her with sarcasm, but whatever it was that was bothering the captain now, it was clearly upsetting her to the point that it was visible in her furrowed brow and tired eyes.

The honey blond sat down next to Jane, placing a caring hand on her arm. She searched Jane's features for some sign of what was bothering her. They had talked a lot in the past few weeks, but Jane never seemed to reveal much about herself. She was a guarded person, easy to get along with but hard to get to know. Maura yearned to break down the walls that Jane had built around her heart. She had a feeling that who ever could do so would be rewarded with a loyal and compassionate friend.

Jane looked up at Maura quickly, a weak appreciative smile on her face. She knew the doctor was just trying to help. And it wasn't that she didn't appreciate that Maura cared about her, it was just that she really didn't want to think about what her and Korsak had discovered in that chest.

She had only come to find the honey blond in the hopes of forgetting about all her troubles for a while. All Jane wanted was to bask in the warmth of Maura's smile and enjoy her quiet company. Jane had never had a friend like Maura. Sure, she made friends fairly easily, but rarely with women. Frost and Korsak were good friends of hers, but she couldn't sit and _be_ with them like she could with Maura.

"I'm sorry." Jane finally said after a long silence, having noticed Maura's hurt expression. "I'm just … I have a lot on my mind."

Maura scooted her chair closer, wrapping her arms around Jane. Somewhat reluctantly, the brunette gave into the side hug and let her head fall on Maura's shoulder, one arm hooking around her back. Jane sighed softly. She figured letting Maura hug her was a small price to pay to make the honey blond stop pouting. Besides, she could think of worse things than the doctor's warm arms around her and the sweet smell of her hair.

The honey blond let out a contented breath and squeezed Jane reassuringly. She rested her cheek on Jane's head and closed her eyes. Maura could feel Jane's breath tickling at her neck and her hand pressed firmly against her lower back. The doctor swallowed, trying to calm her nerves as Jane nuzzled into her shoulder.

"Maura?" Jane said quietly.

"Yes, Jane?" Maura said, looking down, but all she could see were Jane's raven locks.

"Why is your heart—" Jane said, sitting up. She was interrupted, however, by a sudden shout from the bridge.

"Captain!" Frost shouted.

The ship rocked violently, tossing the two of them from their chairs. The lights suddenly went out, leaving nothing but the dim glow of the candles at the table. Another explosion sounded from the port side of the ship, rocking Serenity again. The candles went out, leaving them in complete darkness. The smell of smoke drifted in from the corridor.

"Jane—" Frost hollered, "Jane I need you up here!"

"What happened?!" Jane said, stumbling onto the bridge, followed closely by Maura. "We've got smoke pouring into the canteen. I think it's coming from the engine room."

"We're under attack!" Frost said gesturing to the Alliance cruiser that was in plain view from the pilot's chair.

"Without even so much as a warning?" Jane said with disbelief, "We've got innocent civilians on board."

"They don't seem to care too much about that." Frost said, returning to his seat and attempting to pilot Serenity out of harm's way. "I could use your help at the helm, I'm not the pilot you or Korsak are."

"It's just one problem after another now isn't it?" Jane said, taking the helm forcefully from her young partner.

"What are you talking about?" Frost inquired curiously.

"No time to explain. We need to contain what we can for now. Maura," Jane hollered over her shoulder as the ship leaned hard to the starboard side, "You get as many passengers as you can onto your shuttle. Frost, you take the other one with Ma and the boys. As soon as we clear this cruiser you need to launch. The fire safety systems are obviously down, so I'm gonna have to vent the air to put out the fire—"

"But Jane, what about you?!" Maura interrupted the Captain very suddenly. "If you vent the whole ship you'll die in mere minutes!"

"I'll be fine." Jane said firmly, "I can seal off the bridge. I have plenty of air to last me until Serenity reaches Regina. I'll meet you guys there as soon as I can."

"Jane…" Maura said softly, her eyes brimming with worried tears. "…We can't just leave you all by yourself."

"You have no choice. I need you two to get the others out of here!" Jane yelled at the both of them.

"No." Frost said firmly, "I'm not leaving you behind."

"Frost, get to the shuttle now! That's an order!" Jane said.

"Korsak can take the shuttle out! He's a better pilot anyway; I'm staying here with you!" Frost insisted.

"No!" Jane said, forcing Serenity quickly to the port side with a quick turn of the helm. "He has to fly Maura's shuttle, she hasn't had enough practice, there's no way she can fly that old piece of junk by herself!"

Had the situation been less dire, Maura might have been insulted by the way Jane spoke of her new home. She had grown quite fond of the shuttle; it had a unique charm. The situation being as it was, however, she had little else on her mind other than all that could go wrong with this plan of Jane's. She was just about to question her instructions when Jane hollered at them again.

"You have to go now!" the brunette yelled. "Every minute you spend here is another minute of oxygen gone!" She turned and looked Maura steadily in the eyes, knowing she needed reassurance, "I will meet you in Paradiso, Maur. You just got to make sure all the passengers get there."

For a brief moment the doctor gazed worriedly back at the captain. She had the distinct feeling that the likelihood that she would ever see Jane alive again was slim to none. Was the brunette just trying to comfort her, or was she really stubborn enough to think she could fly this damaged ship all the way to their destination? Whatever the answer, she didn't have the time to find it. So, with one last pained look she departed, making her way to through the smoke to the bunks to evacuate the passengers.

"Frost!" Jane hollered at her young partner, who had still not moved from her side. "I need you to get those medical supplies to Sheriff Bourne!"

"I'm not leaving you!" he insisted. "There's no way you can make it all the way to Regina by yourself. You know as well as I do that the fail-safes are down. The only way you're opening that cargo bay door is by going down there and using the manual override."

"That wasn't a request Frost!" Jane said, looking him right in the eye. "Besides, I just told Maura I would meet you guys at Paradiso. You calling me a liar?"

"No—but—" Frost tried to argue.

"Go! Now!" Jane insisted, her expression resolute.

After only hesitating a few seconds more, Frost finally left and made his way to the shuttle. Luckily, the other Rizzoli's were already in the cargo bay, helping Maura and Korsak guide the civilians onto the other shuttle. Frankie and Tommy quickly followed Frost's instructions to board with him, but Angela had to be forcefully removed from Maura's arms, who had been trying to comfort her since the doctor had explained that Jane would be left behind.

"No!" Angela said, trying to free herself from her sons' arms. "We can't just leave Janey here! I don't care if she's the Captain! She's my baby girl! No, Maura! Why can't we go with Maura?!"

"There's no room, Ma." Frankie tried to explain. "Besides, Doctor Isles has to take care of the wounded."

"It'll be okay Angela!" Maura tried to reassure the woman as well as herself as tears poured down her sooty face. "Jane will be okay. She'll be okay."

(To Be Continued)


	8. Chapter 8 The Battle for Serenity, pt 1

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: Just a note, I don't really know all the technical details about how Serenity works. Anything explained within is only guesswork, so let's just not be picky. Also, some of the events of the Alliance/Independent war may differ from that represented in Firefly. I changed some details to fit better with Jane's character and what I wanted to do with her.

As usual, reviews make my day, so please leave even a short comment!

* * *

Chapter 8 – The Battle for Serenity, pt. 1

Jane had no time to think, no time to plan, only to act. The very moment she escaped the pursuing Alliance cruiser—having barely lost them by weaving through an asteroid field—she cut the engines, and signaled the shuttles to take off. Barely a breath later, she was on her feet. She headed for the cargo bay, the red light of a flare her only light in the swirling smoke.

Her heart beat fast in her chest as she hunched down, coughing into her sleeve. Jane's eyes watered and burned as she struggled to orient herself in the dark. Suddenly, Serenity seemed strange to her; Jane was caught in a maze of corridors and corners she didn't remember. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire and her head was getting light.

_You can't give up now, s_he thought to herself as she stumbled onto the catwalk that led down to the cargo bay, _you're almost there._

She tripped down the stairs, crashing to the steel floor. Though there was a bloody gash now on her face, she did not let this faze her. She winced, fighting to get to her feet. Taking a few deep breaths of the last good air that remained on that part of the ship, she crawled to the cargo bay door.

"You're not going out like this." Jane said, whether to herself or Serenity, she wasn't sure. Barely able to stand, she clung to the wall for support, reaching for the emergency hatch release. In the pitch black, she had no way of knowing how much fire and smoke had consumed the ship. She would just have to vent the air as long as she could tolerate and hope that the fires would be put out within a few seconds. After that she would have to survive on whatever oxygen happened to be left.

"Serenity," she said, as she opened the exterior hatch; she took a deep breath before hitting the interior hatch release, "don't make me a liar."

* * *

"How far are we from Regina?" Maura said, hovering over Korsak's shoulder.

"I'm not sure… maybe six hours out." Korsak said, setting the shuttle to automatic pilot.

"Can the oxygen on Serenity last that long?" Maura inquired, her brow furrowing as she tried to calculate the size of the bridge from memory.

"Honestly, Doctor," the sergeant said, placing a calming hand on her shoulder, "I don't know. I don't even know if Jane will be able to get Serenity up and moving again."

Maura wanted to ask why. Why would Jane risk her life to save her family, her partners, even Maura and a dozen perfect strangers? Why would she save everyone else but herself? But the doctor did not have time to bother the pilot with these questions; she had wounded to care for.

Instead she simply nodded at Korsak and left him to his work at the controls. She entered into the main compartment of the shuttle, where most of Serenity's passengers were cramped together. Many of the women and a couple children looked shaken and confused. A tall man with short brown hair, maybe about thirty, was helping bandage an elderly man's burns, while a young boy looked on tearfully.

"Your grandfather is going to be just fine, son." The man said, smiling encouragingly at the little boy, who held tightly to the other man's hand.

"It's alright—" the old man said, interrupted by a loud fit of coughs.

"He just needs some rest and clean air and he'll recover." The man said.

"But…" the boy choked between sobs.

"He's right." Maura said softly, kneeling down to look the boy in the eyes. "Your grandfather will be okay. I'm a doctor; I should know."

She smiled at the little boy reassuringly. He gave a weak smile back, then winced, grabbing a dark bruise on the side of his head. This was the reason Maura had decided to speak to the little boy first. He was bleeding from his ear and there were some burns on his arms, but what really worried Maura was his sleepy expression.

"I'm Doctor Isles." She said warmly, examining the boy's eyes and face carefully. "What's your name?"

"Timmy." The boy said, the tears drying on his cheeks.

"Hello Timmy." Maura said, taking some supplies from the first aid kit the young man had beside him. "What happened to your head here?"

"I fell when grandpa and I were trying to get away from the smoke." The boy said, his voice unsteady as if he was close to tears again. "It really hurts… and I feel so sleepy."

"Well you mustn't go to sleep just yet, okay, Timmy?" the young man said, watching Maura as she worked to clean the boy's wound. "You might have a concussion."

"What's…" the boy said between sniffles "…that?"

"It's alright," the man said with a soft smile "it means you just got a little bump to the head. I just need you to stay awake for now, okay? That way you can help us take care of your grandpa."

"Okay." Timmy said with a small nod.

"So," Maura said, watching the man out of the corner of her eye, "are you a medic or, perhaps, a doctor?"

"Not exactly." The man said standing up, having finished caring for the old man's wounds. "I've had some medical training. It was just that with all these scared, wounded people, I figured you could use some help. Name's James, by the way, James Todd."

James held out his hand to shake Maura's as she stood up. Maura smiled quickly, and shook his hand briefly. She did not like to be rude, but there was a lot of work to do. Thankfully, she at least would not have to do it all herself.

"Well, Mr. Todd," she said looking around at the crowded room, "you know anything about triage?"

"A bit, yeah." James said. "I was going to treat Tommy here first, but he wouldn't even let me get near him until I helped his grandpa."

"Well," Maura said with a sigh, "it appears we've taken care of our worst cases. I'm going to treat to these women over here, their burns look pretty bad. Can you go through and triage the rest? Let me know if you find anything life-threatening, like head injuries, profuse bleeding, or the like."

"Will do." James said with a confident nod. "Timmy, you stay here and keep an eye on your grandpa, okay? And remember, stay awake for me, okay? If you feel too sleepy you tell me or Doctor Isles."

* * *

The air swept out of the cargo bay through the small gap with gale force, sucking up smoke and oxygen alike. Instantly, Jane felt the pressure change stressing her rib cage painfully. She held her breath and waited as long as she could possibly bear.

Had the loss of cabin pressure not so violently plagued her eardrums and chest, the dizziness from lack of oxygen might have overwhelmed her. She grit her teeth through the pain and just before she was about to collapse she pressed the hatch release again. Jane did not even have enough time to see the interior hatch close before she fell to the hard floor with a thud.

* * *

"_Rizzoli?!"_

_The brunette blinked up at the figure above her. She had been somewhere safe and warm. Now it was dark and cold—and loud. What was with all the noise … and the yelling?_

"_Rizzoli, are you okay?!" the graying man said, staring at her worriedly._

_Slowly Jane's senses returned to her, as well as the pain. She was laying in the cold earth, there was something warm and wet oozing from her leg, where a searing pain was only just severe enough to distract her from the throbbing in her ears. Jane looked around. They were hidden behind a large rock. There were flashes of fire and loud explosions coming slowly closer._

"_What happened?" Jane said wincing as she tried to stand up._

"_You…" the man said with a confused frown as if he was realizing the truth of what he said as he said it, "… you saved my life."_

"_Now, Korsak," Jane said, recalling how she had shoved him out of the way of incoming missile fire, "why would I go and do a thing like that?"_

"_I have no idea." Korsak said with a smile. Suddenly, his expression became very serious, "I don't know how I'll ever repay ya."_

"_Don't worry." Jane said, patting him on the shoulder, "I'm sure I'll think of something. Besides, we've got bigger problems right now."_

"_Yeah," Korsak said peering over the rock and down at the battlefield below, "we're outmanned and outgunned."_

"_What happened to that air support?" Jane said, gritting her teeth as she tied a bandage tightly around her wounded leg._

"_Lieutenant Samuels is gone. There is no one left with authorization to call in the air fleet." Korsak said in an agitated tone._

"_Fuck authorization!" Jane said, struggling to get to her feet. "We need help down here, we're getting slaughtered!"_

_Korsak tried to help the soldier to her feet, but she refused him. She took the rifle from her shoulder and wiped the dirt from her face. With a deep breath she prepared for the charge._

"_Maybe we should get a medic to look at that." Korsak said, gesturing to her wounded thigh._

"_I'll be more than happy to get fixed up after we find a fucking radio and get that air support." Jane said irritably as she peaked out from behind their cover._

"_How do you plan on doing _that_?" Korsak said with an eyebrow raised at her curiously. _

"_Same way I always do," the brunette said with a smile, "a whole lot of determination and just a little bit of luck. Cover me."_

_Korsak raised his rifle and looked at her anxiously, but nodded none-the-less. "I got your back."_

"_That's all I ever expect." Jane said with a friendly pat to Korsak's shoulder, nodding before she dived out into the gunfire._

* * *

"All the others seem little more than shaken up." James reported to the doctor twenty minutes later. "A few burns and abrasions; Mrs. Johnson might have a broken finger. Other than that, these people just need some good sleep and fresh air."

Maura nodded, finishing up the bandages on the second woman's burns. Despite the fact that the two were in pain, their injuries were not as severe as Maura had originally suspected. They would recover quickly so long as their bandages were changed and their burns cared for properly.

"Thank you Mr. Todd." Maura said politely.

"Please," he said kindly, "call me James."

"Well, James, any idea what happened back there?" Maura said as she sanitized her hands. "And you can call me Maura, by the way."

James' smile widened in response. "Well," he said, "it seems that most of the passengers were injured upon their attempts to escape. I don't know much else. Honestly, I thought you might have some idea as to what those explosions were about, you were on the bridge after all."

"Well," Maura said with a frown, "I did see an Alliance cruiser from the bridge, but that was only after the first two explosions occurred. Mr. Frost was the one who was at the helm when it happened."

"An Alliance cruiser?" James said with a shocked expression, "Why would they attack a civilian ship?"

"I—I'm not sure." Maura said. In all honesty, she did not know for sure why the Alliance had attacked Serenity rather than simply boarding it and commandeering the vessel. But Maura knew that there was more than one wanted person aboard and quite a lot of stolen cargo. That wasn't even to mention the possibility she had been considering for some time that her stalker had connections to the government. How else would Paddy Doyle always be one step ahead of her? Always showing up where ever she went, no matter how far across the 'Verse she traveled.

In fact, she had doubted that she would ever have been able to escape her pursuer; that is, until she met Jane. Since she had been aboard Serenity, she had seen no glimpse of the old man anywhere. Originally, she had assumed that not even the Rizzoli's would be able to protect her from him. But after nearly a month under the watchful eye of Jane and the others, she felt safer than she had ever felt before.

Now Maura was separated from the all of the Rizzoli's, who had fast become like family to her. Most especially she was separated from Jane. But Jane was more than family; she was Maura's closest friend. And she had no idea if she would ever see her alive again.

"You okay?" James said, putting a comforting hand on the doctor's shoulder.

Maura stepped back, tears brimming in her eyes. Despite how often she was overcome by tears, she did not normally like being comforted by any physical gesture. Maura felt that her inability to control her emotions was unprofessional and she usually became overly self-conscious when she was unable to remain calm.

"I'm fine." Maura said, sucking in a deep breath, letting out a shuttering exhale and coughing roughly.

"Maybe you should sit down." James suggested, looking honestly concerned.

Maura coughed some more, sitting down on a cot as she did so. "I'm fine," she replied between coughs, "just inhaled a lot of smoke."

So far, the adrenaline and professionalism had kept her going, only interrupted by the occasional cough. But now that she had calmed down and had nobody else to care for, her body was starting to react to the excessive amounts of smoke Maura had inhaled as she had tried to help the passengers escape.

"You were very brave going back and helping more people out of the fire." James said, sitting on the cot beside her.

"Jane is the brave one." Maura observed quietly.

"Jane?" James questioned curiously.

"Captain Rizzoli," Maura explained, "She stayed aboard Serenity so we could escape the Alliance."

"I'm sure she'll be okay." James said encouragingly as Maura began to tear up again.

"She said she'd meet us in Paradiso." Maura said simply.

"Do you believe her?" James asked.

"I don't know…" Maura said quietly, "…but Frost told me something about Jane a while back."

"What was that?" James said with a smile.

"Jane never makes promises." Maura said, smiling at the recollection. "Because she never has to. He said, 'if she looks you in the eye and tells you she's gonna do something, she's gonna do it if even if it takes her dying breath.'"

* * *

"Fuck…" Jane groaned into the floor. There was a throbbing in her head and the taste of blood in her mouth. She blinked and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling for a moment.

The lights were flickering and there was a thin layer of smoke hovering in the air. She took a deep breath and erupted into a fit of coughing. Suddenly her head was not the only source of pain. Her rib cage was sore and her lungs still felt as if they were cinders. Severe burns stung at her arms and sides and there was dried blood on her face.

_I'm alive_, Jane thought to herself, _the pain means I'm alive._

"Not sure for how much longer." She said in a low, scratchy voice as she struggled to get to her feet. The fight was not yet over. From what she could tell, the fire had been put out, but the oxygen had been severely depleted. The air felt thin, and she was finding it extremely hard to fill her lungs with enough air to stumble forward.

"Serenity…" Jane grumbled, but decided against speaking. _We aren't giving up just yet._ She thought with a weak smile as she shuffled across the cargo bay.

It took her nearly half an hour just to get to the engine room. The stairs were what took the longest, having to take it one step at a time. But even as the sweat run down her face, and the air seemed to get thinner and thinner, she struggled on. There was no hope of survival if she could not get the engine up and running again. She need to recycle whatever air she had left long enough to make it to Regina.

Normally she could restart the engines from the bridge, but considering the lights were still flickering ominously in all corners of the ship, something was obviously wrong with the generator. Even when Serenity's engines were cut there should be enough back-up power to supply the emergency systems for several hours. Jane already knew the environmental controls were compromised, given the dropping temperature and the thinning air. What she was really worried about was why the failsafes had not kicked in, forcing at least one engine to restart. It wasn't like this was an uncommon problem, Serenity's expiring engines often caused mechanical problems that compromised its back-up systems, but from what she could tell, most of the damage had occurred on the lower decks, somewhere near the crew bunks. The engine room was all the way over on the other side of the ship.

Before she could even reach the engine room, however, she noticed a faint sound. Jane frowned, trying to figure out where it was coming from. She listened intently. It sounded vaguely like someone sucking very vigorously from a straw.

"Shit!" Jane said, diving to the corridor wall, searching frantically for the source of the leak, her hands running across the steel wall. "Shit, shit, no!"

Several agonizing minutes later she found the miniscule crack. Her fingers were pulled to the steel by the forceful vacuum of space. In silent horror she followed the crack several inches down the wall. This was an outer wall, part of Serenity's structure. If there was even a millimeter of interruption in this wall, the entire ship's structure could be compromised. Even if Jane was able to seal the leak, get the engine back up and running, and make it all the way to Regina with the little bit of air she had left, taking the ship through the planet's atmosphere could cause the whole thing to fall apart before she even could land.

"God damn it, Serenity!" Jane cursed loudly, "you're not making this easy!"

* * *

"Hello Doctor Isles." Korsak said kindly, as Maura stepped from behind the curtain that separated the control room from the rest of the shuttle. "You okay?"

"Yes, Sergeant Korsak." She said with a heavy sigh, leaning against the wall and tilting her head back. Maura closed her eyes took a deep breath, exhaustion visible on her face.

"Are you sure about that?" Korsak said with a quiet laugh. "You look rather tired."

"Just mildly exhausted, that's all." Maura said, scooting down to sit on the floor, burying her face in her arms. "It's been a long time since I've had to triage that many patients all at once."

"You've treated that many before?" Korsak asked curiously, turning in his chair to face her. She could not see, but he looked very concerned for the young doctor.

"That many and more." Maura said quietly into her hands. "In the war."

"I didn't know you were involved in that whole mess." Korsak said gruffly, he did not enjoy talking about that time in his life.

"I wasn't." Maura said simply, looking up at Korsak curiously. In all the time Maura had spent on Serenity, she had yet to learn much at all about Jane's partners. Korsak had always been nice to her, and had never spoken to her in anything other than a friendly tone. The doctor looked up at him warily, wondering why it was that the man was now looking at her suspiciously. Maura continued in a soft, hesitant voice, "I simply treated the wounded."

"Let me guess," Korsak said, trying to keep his voice even, "you treated the Alliance soldiers."

"Yes," Maura said matter-of-factly, "but I treated many Independent wounded as well. I was with a medical team that went out into the battlefield. We treated whoever needed it. I never bothered to ask them what side they were on."

Korsak shifted uncomfortably. He had hoped that the doctor would prove him wrong and say she had been on their side, even if it had been the losing side. Unfortunately, Maura had turned out to be the honest person he had suspected her to be. She looked up at him as if daring him to blame her for treating the injured un-biasedly despite the political feud between the two groups.

After a long silence Korsak's face lightened and a smile broke out onto his face. "You're a good person, Doctor Isles. A mighty good person."

Maura replied with a shocked look on her face. She had not expected the mood to lighten, especially so quickly. She blinked and smiled at him shyly. They laughed quietly for a while; both vaguely aware of how awkward the moment had been for them.

After another long silence, Maura finally bucked up the courage to ask Korsak about something she had been curious about for some time. "Is that where you met Jane?" she asked quietly, her mouth growing dry with nervousness, "in the war, I mean?"

He smiled at her, but in his eyes there was a look of solemn reverie, "Yeah. Her and I were in the same detachment. Originally we really butted heads, because she used to give me a real hard time—honestly, she gave everyone a hard time. But she was a good soldier and an even better leader. She had everyone convinced we could win the war if only we had the guts to keep on fighting."

Korsak's voice faded away and he looked out the windows and off into the distance. The war was a long time ago to anyone who didn't live through it—fight through it. To Korsak and Jane, and to some extent Frost, however, the pain and loss was still fresh, the wounds still raw.

"The last battle, when the War ended, that's known as the Battle of Serenity, right?" Maura asked. She already knew the answer, but decided against fact spewing in this instance. Maura might know more about the politics of the War than a soldier like Korsak, but she was nervous about upsetting him again.

The older man gave her a knowing look. His smile told her he appreciated the respect she was trying to show for him. He quietly nodded in reply.

"Is that why you named the ship Serenity, after the battle on Hera?" Maura asked, this time genuinely curious, having heard little more than gossip about the devastating defeat of the Independent troops.

"Well…" Korsak said, squinting thoughtfully as if he had never really contemplated the reason, "…yes…and no."

"What do you mean 'yes and no'?" Maura said with a laugh.

"See…" Korsak said searching hard for the right explanation, "…well it only really makes sense if I tell you about what happened that day."

Maura scooted closer, her eyes brightening with interest. "Will you tell me?" Maura pleaded hopefully, "please?"

"Nah." Korsak said, sitting back decidedly. "You don't care about old war stories."

"I do!" Maura insisted. "I'm very much interested in a bit of history, especially one from a first-hand point of view. Your account may not be completely accurate or unbiased, but does not mean your opinion is without merit."

"I don't know…" Korsak said with a smile, his resolve waning.

"Please Vincent?" Maura said with a pout and a flutter of her eyelashes.

"Fine." Korsak said with a sigh.

* * *

_Vincent didn't know what it was Jane had planned, but he hoped it was good. They were losing this battle fast and what few troops they had left were getting discouraged. Many of the young ones had retreated back to the shelter of the caves, against direct orders from Lieutenant Samuels._

_But the Lieutenant was gone now. There was no one to keep order or direct troops but Sergeant Korsak and a few scattered Corporals. The only person who could possibly lead them out of here had just dived into a spray of incoming fire, a fierce look on her face as she fired her rifle up into the cliffs._

_The Sergeant stepped out from the outcrop and started firing at the source of the incoming fire. He watched Jane nervously out of the corner of his eye. She might be bullheaded but she wasn't bulletproof, as was evident by the wound on her leg. But the adrenaline had evidently overpowered the pain and Jane was barely limping at all as she made her way across the stony valley to their last outpost._

_Vincent tried to follow his fellow soldier and provide her with cover fire as much as possible. Unfortunately, however, sniper fire trapped him when he dived into a shallow trench behind a thick bush. With no way of escaping without a bullet to the head, he had little choice but wait there and hope that Jane could reach the outpost on her own and provide a distraction for the sharpshooter. Rizzoli might be fast, but not even she could dodge a sniper's bullet._

_It seemed like ages before the brunette returned. When she finally did, Korsak nearly jumped out of his skin, actually drawing his knife on her in surprise. As soon as he realized it was her he heaved a sigh of relief, "Jesus, Rizzoli, I nearly killed ya."_

"_Not even close." Jane said with a smirk, her hand on his wrist. With one squeeze she could effortlessly force him to drop his weapon and wince in pain. But doing so was not necessary, she had already demonstrated this technique to him before, he didn't really want to experience it again._

"_You came back empty handed." Vincent said, looking for some sign of a radio, a flare, _something_ to signal the troops. _

"_Not exactly." Jane said, gesturing to the solider behind her. "This here is Corporal Frost."_

"_Frost." Vincent nodded respectfully._

"_Sergeant Korsak." The young man said with a salute._

"_No need for the formalities." Vincent said with shake of his head._

"_Just because the Independents don't have the fancy weaponry and battle training of the Alliance, doesn't mean we can't have a bit of respect for each other." Frost said irritably._

"_I've got a plan." Jane said, interrupting before Korsak could respond with another smart remark._

"_What is it?" Korsak asked encouragingly. He was used to Jane just sort of flying by the seat of her pants. It was quite surprising to hear she had actually thought something through._

"_Well…" Jane said, peaking out from behind the bush at the cliffs across the valley, "you see that anti-aircraft weaponry over there?"_

"_Where?" Korsak said squinting to see where Jane was pointing._

"_Over there, one o' clock."_

"_You mean over on the Alliance's side?!" Korsak said in disbelief._

"_Yeah, but they've abandoned that outcrop, the battle's moved south, down into the valley." Jane argued._

"_That doesn't mean it's unguarded."_

"_Of course not."_

"_Okay, well even if we manage to capture it, what then?"_

"_What do you mean, 'what then?'"_

"_When we capture the anti-aircraft weaponry, what do we do then?"_

"_What kind of question is that? We _use_ it! What else?"_

"_That's it?! That's your plan?"_

"_No, of course not!"_

"_For fuck's sake!" Frost interrupted, "We don't have the kind of time to just be sitting around here bickering!"_

_Korsak and Jane looked at Frost in surprise. The sudden outburst was far from expected from the composed looking Corporal. Apparently, underneath the initial formality was a familiar soul after all._

"_Okay," Jane said, looking Korsak in the eye, "I don't have time to explain, but we've got to capture that weaponry and we've got to do it fast."_

"_Why?" Vincent asked curiously._

"_Because," Frost said, following Jane out of the trench, "we've got incoming Alliance ships."_

"_Besides," Jane said with a smile, "you heard what I told the boys back there."_

_Korsak cracked a smile at the recollection. "'If nothing else," he quoted, "we're going to show those bastards what we're made of!'"_

* * *

"I really don't have time for this!" Jane hollered to the engine room. Her voice echoed in the emptiness of the ship. She tossed tools and scraps of wire and nuts and screws around frantically, looking for a spare sheet of metal. She needed something, anything, to weld over the leak in the corridor, and she needed it _fast._

Her head was throbbing, her whole body felt weak. Jane's extremities started to feel numb, the cold biting at her nose. She struggled to stay focused, the dizziness slowly making it harder and harder to grip even the floor beneath her.

"Why don't you just give up?" a voice whispered in her ear.

Jane jumped at the sound, stumbling over the mess on the floor. Her heart was racing as she scanned the shadows in the flickering lights. She recognized that voice, that horrible, sadistic, sickening voice.

"You smell of… lavender… lavender and fear…" a shadow laughed hoarsely in the corner.

Jane reached for her pistol. She blinked in the haze. Frantically she searched the engine room for any sign of the voice's host. There was no one there. She was completely alone, alone with her nightmares.

Tears brimmed in her eyes as she realized she was trapped. She was trapped in this dying ship, slowly suffocating and freezing to death, thousands upon thousands of miles away from her family and her friends. The Alliance was sure to find her, if they decided not to just let her die out here in this asteroid field. Worst of all, she was going to break a promise, a promise to a friend she held so dearly; a friend who had no idea that she had started to drive away the nightmares.

To Be Continued

* * *

I didn't mean to leave you with another cliffhanger, but this chapter is SUPER long, so I had to split it into two parts. I'll have the next part up as quickly as possible.


	9. Chapter 9 The Battle for Serenity, pt 2

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: As usual, reviews make my day, so please leave even a short comment!

* * *

Chapter 9 – The Battle for Serenity, pt. 2

"So what happened next?" Maura encouraged.

Korsak had paused during his story, taking a deep, calming breath. He was silent for a long time, staring out the window at the stars passing by. The graying man avoided the doctor's eyes. He often tried to hide it but he was a very sensitive man, and the retelling of this story was making it difficult for him to remain composed.

"Well…" Korsak said with a sigh, finally glancing down at Maura, who was looking up at him with a sympathetic smile, "…I don't really know how, but we managed to take the anti-aircraft weaponry."

"Did Jane take down the incoming ships?" Maura said, watching Korsak expectantly. She couldn't help but get caught up in the story. The images that played along in her imagination as Korsak told his narrative kept her mind busy from the worries that threatened to come to the surface. She would much rather picture Jane bravely fighting in battle than think about her struggling to survive on the dying ship.

It was getting harder and harder, however, to keep her consciousness invested in the story as Korsak became quieter and quieter. Maura did not want to push him into talking about an event he found so troubling, but she was desperate to keep the tears at bay by hearing about the unbelievable foolish bravery of her friend.

"She managed to take down one, yes." Korsak said with a short laugh. "Nearly killed the three of us."

"What?" Maura said, glad Korsak was willing to continue. "How?

"The thing practically came down right on us!" Korsak said with an enthusiastic gesture of frustration.

* * *

"_Take that!" Jane yelled as she continued to fire at the flaming ship._

"_Nice job, Rizzoli!" Frost said with a pat on her shoulder as she stepped back from the gun._

"_Um… Rizzoli…" Korsak said, trying to gain her attention. But Jane and Frost were too busy hooting and hollering and congratulating themselves to notice._

"_Rizzoli!" Korsak hollered._

"_What?!" Jane said irritably. It was like Korsak to ruin a brief moment of triumph with bad news._

"_Run!" he said, grabbing both of them by the arms and dragging them down the steep incline._

_Then Jane heard it, the ship falling to the ground at full speed, in flames and coming ever closer to the outcrop. They leapt from the cliff and into the rubble below, the flaming wreckage flying just inches above them._

"_That was a close one." Jane said with a laugh, wincing as she stood up and dusted off her dirty trousers._

"_You're telling me." Frost said with a sigh of relief, looking up at the burning hill only twenty feet above them._

"_Well there goes our anti-aircraft artillery." Korsak said angrily. "I guess we'll just have to wait for that air support after all."_

"_Air support?" Frost said, looking between Korsak and Jane with confusion. He looked at Jane with a frown, "You didn't tell him, did you?"_

"_No!" Jane said furiously, "When would I have told him?"_

"_I don't know," Frost said sarcastically, "maybe when we were in that trench and you were coming up with this crazy ass plan!"_

"_Didn't tell me what?" Korsak insisted._

"_It doesn't matter!" Jane said, looking at Frost with deadly expression._

"_What doesn't matter!" Korsak said, "Jane! Tell me! You owe me that much!" _

"_They aren't coming, okay?!" Jane screamed at him. "They are leaving us here to die!"_

"_What do you mean they aren't coming?" Korsak insisted, grabbing Jane's arm as she tried to turn away. "You tell me what you mean by that!"_

_Suddenly, Korsak noticed that the valley had grown quiet. Explosions no longer plagued his ears. The hollering had died down; there was only the occasional peppering of rifle fire. He looked around; Alliance ships were landing by the dozen upon the valley below; Independent troops were scattering like startled animals._

Repeat. _Sounded the radio Korsak had just noticed in Frost's shoulder. _All troops are to lay down arms. Repeat. Lay down arms and surrender.

"_You knew?!" Korsak said, looking at her baffled. _

"_I couldn't…" Jane said, gulping down the lump in her throat. She would not cry, she could not cry here, not in front of Korsak and Frost._

"_We couldn't just give up." Frost said to Korsak firmly._

"_So what was the plan?" Korsak said, angrily, "Shoot down as many Alliance vessels as you could before we get taken prisoner?!"_

"_I promised those boys back there, Korsak, I promised them we wouldn't go down without a fight!" Jane said fiercely, her tears masked by rage._

"_It's not you're fault, Jane." Korsak said, his voice softening. He had spent enough time with the Captain to know when she was desperately trying to remain calm. He placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "This is not your fault."_

"_No!" Jane screamed, pulling away from him violently. "This _is_ my fault! We never should have tried to retake this valley!"_

"_They are surrendering, Jane, that is not your fault." Frost tried to reason with her._

"_The hell it's not!" Jane said, dropping her gun and raising her hands as the Alliance soldiers approached. Korsak and Frost dropped their weapons as well, their faces solemn and stern, but nowhere near as defeated as Jane's._

* * *

Maura was in tears, quietly sobbing into her sleeve. She had hoped that Korsak's story would somehow soothe her. However, hearing how Jane had been so completely crushed by the events at the Battle of Serenity had only caused her to imagine how defeated Jane must feel at that very moment.

"Oh, Vince!" Maura said, tossing herself into his shocked arms. "What if Jane doesn't make it back?" Tears spilled onto his shoulder as she continued in muffled sobs, "What if she dies out there? What if I—what if we never see her again?"

Still quite shocked by the doctor's sudden emotional reaction, he patted Maura's back awkwardly. He stared down at her hair for a while, trying to think of what to say to calm her. Finally, very cautiously, he decided continuing his story was the best course of action.

"That's the thing, Doctor Isles," Korsak said, heaving a sigh when she finally released him, "if there's one thing I know about Jane, it's that she never gives up, no matter the odds."

"Like in the battle?" Maura said, wiping the tears from her eyes and smiling up at the sergeant.

"Yeah." He said with an encouraging nod. "And like right now. 'Cause I'll bet you anything that right now, Jane is fighting with all she's got just to keep her word to meet us in Paradiso."

* * *

"Hoyt, you bastard!" Jane said, fighting her way to her feet. "You haven't killed me yet."

"I don't have to." The shadow whispered to her. "You're going to die here alone and I'm going to watch you wither away."

"You're not real." Jane said, putting her hand to the wound on her head. She felt blood oozing there.

"You're suffering from excessive hemorrhaging and prolonged oxygen depletion, in some cases it can cause auditory and visual hallucinations."

Jane turned around, trying to find the source of the sound. But the effort was futile, she already knew this voice was just as impossible as the first. Still, she didn't want this one to fade away; she wanted Maura to stay.

"I don't want to be alone with these nightmares anymore…" Jane whispered, "Please, Maura, don't leave me alone here."

"You only have a few hours of usable air left." Maura's voice said. "You need to fix that leak. Then you need to get that engine up and running."

"I know…" Jane said irritably, picking up a small sheet of metal and a blowtorch. "Sheesh, even imaginary Maura is bossy!"

"I am not bossy!" Maura's voice replied.

"Yes you are, you're just soft and polite when you're bossing people around." Jane said with a smirk as she started to weld the piece into place.

* * *

It took Maura quite some time before she was stable enough to listen to Korsak's story again. Though she found herself becoming more comfortable with Jane's old friend, she continued to apologize profusely for her inability to control her emotions. Korsak dealt with the sobbing woman to the best of his ability. He wasn't entirely sure why the young woman had grown so attached to the Captain, but if one thing was for sure, Maura's feelings were not unrequited.

"The two of you sure are a pair, aren't ya?" Korsak said with a soft laugh.

"Huh?" Maura sniffed, dabbing her face dry with the handkerchief Korsak had kindly offered her.

"You and Jane, you're quite the pair." Korsak repeated.

Maura blushed slightly and looked up at him with a frown. She wasn't entirely sure what it was that Korsak was trying to say, but she hoped he wasn't implying anything. Her heart started beating fast in her chest. _There's nothing … like that…going on._ She thought to herself quickly.

"What I mean is…" Korsak said, his face growing red as he fumbled over his words, "Well, you and Jane… ya just get along real well…I've never seen her get on with anyone the way she does with you."

Maura's frown deepened, "She's had other friends before, surely?"

"Yes, of course!" Korsak explained. "It's just, usually she keeps her distance from them. She's real likeable, of course, but she's not real easy to get to know. Jane's not too… touchy-feely. You and her, you have chemistry, you fit together."

Maura shook her head quietly; she didn't really understand what it was that Korsak was talking about. "But Jane and I... we're friends but… we've only known each other for such a short time."

"I know that." Korsak said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's just that ever since you've been on board Serenity Jane's been different… happier. She used to mope around in her bunk or up in the bridge. Angela had to practically drag her up to the canteen for meals. Now she's the first one at the table aside from you and her Ma."

"Well that might have more to do with the contributions I've been making to the food stores." Maura suggested shyly. "Angela and I have been doing a lot of adjusting to the menu."

"It's more than that." Korsak smiled. "Jane might still be as wild and restless as ever, but it doesn't seem like she's feels so hopeless anymore. She even sleeps more."

Maura's brow furrowed, "I'm not so sure about that, Vincent. She usually seems quite exhausted when I go to visit her on the bridge. In fact, she's fallen asleep right in the middle of a conversation on more than one occasion!"

"I know! Don't you see?" Korsak laughed, "She's comfortable around you. She might not sleep at night, Jane never sleeps much, but when she's with you she can let her guard down, she can relax. I haven't ever see her do that with anyone, not even me, and I've known her more than a decade!"

Maura smiled shyly and tried not to blush. She had never really thought much about why Jane so often snoozed while in Maura's company. She had always assumed it was because she was so exhausted. She never thought that it was a behavior exclusive to Maura's proximity. In fact, she had started to worry that Jane would fall asleep at the helm when Maura was not around to wake her so the doctor had gotten into the habit of asking Frost or Frankie to check up on Jane when Maura left to go to bed.

The honey blond didn't really know what to say so she simply smiled softly. The two were quiet for a moment, lost in thought. Then, after a while, Maura got up the courage to ask Korsak yet another question that had been nagging at her.

This time she was more blunt than before, forgetting to hide her curiosity in the guise of making conversation, "Why is it that Jane sleeps so poorly?"

She did not know if Korsak knew the answer to her question. There was no reason to believe that Jane would have opened up to Korsak more than anyone else. Maura simply thought that aside from her brother Frankie, Jane didn't seem to be close with anyone else.

The gray haired man did not immediately respond. He did not seem entirely shocked by the doctor's inquiry; he simply looked at her contemplatively for a while before answering. When he finally did respond he looked over at her with a grave smile, shaking his head. "It's not really my place to answer that. If Jane decides to talk about that with you, then that's her decision. All I can tell you is that there are a lot of dark things in her past, things that would haunt anyone, things that would drive a lesser person mad. Jane, she hides it all away. But these things, they have a way of surfacing no matter how strong we are."

Maura nodded quietly, tears brimming again in her eyes. If it weren't for the deeply troubled look of sympathy in Korsak's eyes, she might have questioned him further, or made some comment about the devastating affects traumatic events can have on the psyche. But the doctor's heart ached with empathy instead. From what little Jane had revealed about herself, she could make the decently supported hypothesis that the captain had very personal reasons for pursuing a criminal like Hoyt.

* * *

"Fuck!" Jane said angrily, throwing a wrench across the engine room in frustration.

"Watch your language, Jane." Maura's voice said with rebuke.

"Stop nagging me, you're worse than my mother!" Jane hollered irritably, her back slipping down the wall so that she sat roughly on the floor, out of breath.

"Jane…" the voice whispered; it was closer now, softer. Jane could feel hot tears of anger trying to force themselves from her tired eyes but she held them back with vigor. "…don't give up."

"I can't…" Jane said between labored breaths, "…I can't fix her."

"I told you, she's going to wither and die here all alone." Hoyt's voice said, causing chills to run up Jane's spine.

"No." Maura's voice said with collected coolness. "She's going to fix that compression coil, get that engine running, and make it to Regina by recycling what air she has left directly into the bridge."

"Maura!" Jane said, sitting up suddenly, "You're brilliant!"

"Well, actually, since I'm actually just a projection of your subconscious onto a familiar personification, you're actually the one that's—"

"Yep," Jane said, stumbling to her feet enthusiastically, "Maura, obnoxious as ever, even when she's only in my head."

* * *

"Wait…" Maura said with a confused frown, "I still don't know why it was that Jane decided to name her ship after the battle at Serenity.

"Well that's because I've only told you half the story yet." Korsak said with a small smile.

"Please continue…" Maura said in a soft voice, sitting down beside him and watching him carefully.

"Well I didn't see Jane for some time after the war." Korsak started. He looked off into the distance, as if lost in the memories he was retelling. "After the Alliance finally released all it's prisoners, I was drifting around for a while—I hadn't seen Jane since we were transported off of Hera about three days after the battle I told you about.

"Anyway, I was drifting all over the place for a while, mostly looking for work. Finally, I ended up on Persephone, where I bumped into Jane. Turned out she had gotten herself into a bit of a bind. Had the Alliance on her tail, a bounty on her head…" Korsak started to laugh heartily. "Well, I guess things aren't much different now, but, see, back then she was on her own, her family wasn't around to help her and she had made quite a lot of enemies in the War.

"So, despite her protesting, I had gotten it into my head that I was going to help her out. See, I still felt I owed her my life and all. So, anyway, she was telling me about this bounty she was out to get—seems she had been doing odd jobs since the War too, and bounty hunting was something she found she could do real easy—anyway, this bounty she was after, she'd been going at it for months, with no luck. So I told her I'd help her out.

"She didn't really want to accept my help, but I eventually got her to give in by telling her she'd have to split the reward. Well, we put our heads together and we tried to pick up the guy's trail. But every time we felt we were getting close, he would slip out of our hands. Thing was, though, that our investigations into him led us to all sorts of other criminals, many with bounties on their heads. We just sort of ended up chasing bounties all around the 'verse, sometimes picking up other odd jobs, but always keeping an eye out for this big bounty, the one who kept getting away."

Korsak paused for a moment, looking at the doctor very closely. He wondered if Maura had picked up on just whom it was that he was alluding to. The older man had always been careful when telling others anything about the man that he and Jane had been searching for all these years. Korsak knew more about the reasons why Jane pursued this bounty than Jane was perhaps comfortable with; sometimes Korsak even felt that Jane resented him for it.

Needless to say, he was reluctant to reveal much about Jane's motivations for her pursuit of the serial criminal. He found it in his best judgment to avoid all discussions of the topic altogether. But, in telling the story of how they had built the Serenity crew, he had inadvertently brought the subject to the foreground.

Maura gave him a small, knowing smile. She wasn't entirely sure why the sergeant was being so vague, but she felt it would be rude to interrupt his story, even now as he paused to look at her. Besides, she just figured he was gathering his thoughts together before he would continue.

* * *

"_Rizzoli, where the hell are we going?" Korsak said, looking around the crowded shipyard nervously. Jane had dragged the tired man what seemed like miles past one vessel after another with a purposeful look on her face. He had originally assumed that the brunette was taking him to the docks to board another outbound ship for a job. They hadn't found work in some time, and he had started to worry that they would never find any again._

_But Jane had lead him past the docks at a fast pace straight into the shipyard. Here, vessel upon vessel were lined up in rows, some being repaired, others being constructed, the whole place a noisy mess of machinery and workers hollering. For a moment the sergeant worried that Jane was signing them up to work in the shipyard itself. He might have known a thing or two about engines, but he didn't really have the constitution for a labor-intensive job like space vessel construction._

"_Please tell me we aren't meeting someone here for a job." Korsak asked worriedly, his eyes darting around at the sweaty, grease-covered labor workers around them._

"_No, no, of course not." Jane said with a casual wave of her hand._

"_Then what are we doing here, Jane?" Korsak said, uncomfortable with the grin that was spreading across her face. She was definitely up to something._

"_We're almost there, Korsak, just hold your horses!" Jane said waving at him again; she could tell he was growing worried and impatient, he rarely called her 'Jane' when he wasn't being extremely serious. _

"_I wish you would just tell me what we're doing here, Rizzoli." Korsak said irritably. Jane's pace had quickened as they approached the outskirts of the shipyard. What surrounded them now were mostly piles of scrap metal and junk parts, interspersed with the occasional broken down vessel. He panted, struggling to keep up with his excited partner. Suddenly she stopped right in front of him and he nearly fell on his ass as he tried not to knock into her._

"_Holy hell Riz—" he said as he struggled to keep his balance. Then he noticed the atrocity that she was beaming up at._

"_Isn't she beautiful?" Jane said with a proud smile._

"_That?!" Korsak said pointing at what looked like a giant pile of space trash in the vague form of an old Firefly-class starship._

"_Yep!" Jane said placing a hand lovingly on the dusty metal of the ship's hull, much like one would stroke a prized racehorse. "And she's all ours."_

"_Rizzoli this is a piece of—wait! Did you say 'ours?!'" Korsak said, looking at her with sheer disbelief._

"_Well, of course, Korsak." She said with a laugh, "I couldn't purchase a starship on my credit alone!"_

"_You _paid_ for this hunk of shit?!" Korsak said indignantly._

"_Of course not!" Jane said with a smirk, "_We _paid for her."_

* * *

"I can't believe I paid for this piece of shit!" Jane yelled irritably.

"Jane, I've warned you about your language." Maura's voice said with reproach.

"Well just what are you going to do about it, huh? Nag me to death?" Jane said in an agitated tone, with only a vague hint of facetiousness.

"Besides, I thought you adored this ship." Maura voice said curiously. "Why would you curse at it and call it such a vulgar thing?"

"She, Maura, Serenity is a 'she,' not an 'it.'" Jane said forcefully removing the brand new, but completely destroyed compression coil from the engine. "And it was _this_ I was calling a piece of shit." Jane shook the piece at her angrily before letting it fall to the engine room floor unceremoniously.

"It is impossible for inanimate objects to have genders, Jane. Despite how ship crews and captains have acted like for generations, their vessels do not have personalities, nor do they have moods or senses."

"Of course they do. Besides, why should I believe you?" Jane said fixing the old compression coil into place. "You don't even exist."

"Well—I—" Maura's voice cut off with a huff of frustration.

"I guess I've got you there." Jane said with a laugh as she wiped her greasy hands on her trousers.

"You know that old coil won't last you very long. There was a reason I had you replace it in the first place."

"I know." Jane said with a sigh. "But it will have to do for now."

"Do you think it will last long enough to get you to Paradiso?"

"To be honest, I have no idea." Jane said with a shrug. "Guess we'll just have to see."

With that Jane started up the engines. She held her breath and crossed her fingers. For a while she thought they were going to cut out when they sputtered and sputtered for a long while but did nothing else. Then a miracle happened.

"You did it Jane!" Maura's voice said exuberantly in her ear, barely audible over the sound of the spinning engines.

"Not quite yet." Jane said, wiping the sweat and dried blood from her forehead. "We've still got to get out of this asteroid field without attracting the attention of that Alliance Cruiser. Not to mention, land this wounded ship somewhere before I run out of oxygen completely."

"I believe in you, Jane."

"I'm glad someone does."

* * *

"_What would you go and buy a ship for, Rizzoli?!" Korsak hollered angrily._

"_I thought that was obvious!" Jane said, looking at him incredulously. _

"_Well I must be getting old and senile or something." Korsak said in a mocking tone. "Would you mind explaining it to me?!"_

"_Korsak!" Jane said in a pleading tone; she honestly didn't know why he was getting so upset. "You're the one that's always complaining about how we're always moving from ship to ship, town to town, never have anything or any place to call our own."_

"_Yeah," Korsak admitted, but he was still worried about all the work they'd have to put into even making this thing fly, "but I guess I always thought when I finally got my own ship it would be more…more…"_

"_Sleek?" Jane suggested with a smirk, "Shiny? New?"_

"_I was going to say habitable." Korsak said with a laugh._

"_Serenity is habitable, Korsak!" Jane said, pressing the button to open the hatch._

"_Serenity?" Korsak said with a raise of his eyebrow. "You've already named it?"_

"_Yes, Serenity." Jane said with a proud smile as she walked up the ramp, gesturing for Korsak to follow her. "And she's just brimming with potential."_

_Korsak lingered outside, turning his nose up at the rusty smell and swirling dust. "I might just take your word for it." He said, burying his mouth in the crook of his elbow._

"_Oh come on!" Jane said, pulling him by the sleeve quite forcefully._

* * *

Korsak's story was interrupted by the bleep of one of the monitors on the dash. He sat up very suddenly and took a look. With a smile his gaze moved up to the window and he pointed into the distance.

"We're almost there." He said with a smile, his finger gesturing to a bright orb in the distance. "Can't believe I didn't notice 'till just now."

"Me either." Maura said in a far off voice. She had been so enveloped in the sergeant's story that she had forgotten about everything else. The doctor sat up very suddenly with a guilty look on her face. "Oh, dear! I really should be checking on the other passengers! Please excuse me Vince."

With that she slipped behind the curtain and out into the main compartment of the shuttle. She glanced around the room. Most of the passengers were quietly resting, some talking quietly. Her gaze swept across the crowded space, eagerly looking for any sign of James. Certainly he had been keeping an eye on little Timmy and his grandfather.

"Hello Maura." James said, suddenly appearing next to her, placing a hand on her arm.

The doctor jumped, startled. "Oh, hello James!" she said, putting a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. _Where did he come from?_ She thought to herself with a frown.

"Is everything okay?" James said with concern.

"Yes, yes." Maura nodded. "Everything is fine. We're almost to Regina, actually. I was just worried about that little boy, Timmy. Is he doing alright? I feel so horrible, I should have been watching him more carefully."

"Oh no…" James said quietly, his expression downtrodden. "I was actually just looking for you—"

"He didn't lose consciousness did he?!" Maura said, growing upset as she desperately looked around for the boy. "Did he slip into a coma?"

"No, no!" James said encouragingly, "the boy is fine! It's just, well his grandfather just lost consciousness and he… he passed… the boy is very upset."

Maura frowned at James suspiciously, "The old man? But he was in stable condition just a couple hours ago."

"I know. I'm not sure what happened." James said lowering his voice as he led her into the small compartment to the back of the shuttle. "He was doing just fine and then… well needless to say Timmy is inconsolable. I moved the body away from the others, but the boy won't leave him."

"Oh no…" Maura said, her heart swelling sympathetically, "…poor Timmy."

"I tried talking to him but … he's practically catatonic." James said gesturing to the boy, who was huddled in the corner, sobbing quietly.

Maura quickly checked the pulse of the old man lying on the floor. He was certainly dead, and from what she could tell, he hadn't been for very long. The doctor frowned; she had doubted James would be wrong, but she just didn't understand why the old man had died so suddenly.

With a solemn sigh she lifted the blanket over the man's face and looked over at the young boy. She stood up slowly, wishing she knew how to console him. She knew plenty about treating children's physical wounds, but she never really felt comfortable when they were upset or crying. She always worried she would say something to upset them even more.

"Timmy?" Maura said softly, kneeling down beside the boy.

Suddenly, the boy looked up from his tear-stained sleeves. Immediately he threw his small arms around her neck and buried his face in her shoulder, crying softly. Startled, Maura held him, patting his back gently. Tears of empathy swelled in her hazel eyes despite her fight to remain calm.

"It's okay…" Maura whispered in a shaky voice, her heart ready to burst.

* * *

"Maura!" Angela yelled joyfully as she ran toward the doctor with open arms. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

Maura had little choice but let herself be tackled by a tearful Mrs. Rizzoli, so she smiled and braced herself. However, as Angela's arms wrapped tightly around her she couldn't help but feel her worry ease a bit. It felt nice to be so enthusiastically greeted, almost as if she really was family.

"Of course I'm okay." Maura said squeezing Angela gently in return.

"What about the others?!" Angela said, stepping back and looking worriedly into Maura's eyes as she held her by the shoulders. "Are all the passengers okay?"

The doctor's gaze shifted downward. If only she had not gotten so caught up in Korsak's story, maybe that old man might not have died. _I should have stayed with him! _She thought to herself angrily.

"Maura, honey?" Angela said, anxiousness audible in her high-pitched tone, "What's wrong? Did you get word from Janey? Please tell me she's okay!"

"No, no!" Maura said shaking her head frantically, "It's nothing like that. It's just that this older gentleman, the one with his little grandson… he didn't make it… and I… I should have… there must have been something I could have—"

"Maura!" Angela said, tossing her arms around the doctor again, "You can't go blaming yourself! I'm sure you did everything you could!"

"I—I don't know..." Maura said, tears stinging at her eyes again. "I could have… I could have stayed with him and the boy… I _should _have!"

"This is not your fault!" Angela said, pushing Maura away again so she could look her right in her teary hazel eyes, "You hear me? None of this is your fault!"

It took Maura quite some time to calm down. All the while, Angela patiently held her, stroking her hair. But as the guilt slipped back into the corners of her consciousness, something else started creeping forward.

She didn't want to say anything about it, because she knew the nagging questions would upset Angela even more than they upset her. Maura had little choice, though, because the older woman could sense the doctor was growing uneasy and was near to crying.

"What it is, Maura?" Angela said, stepping back to look at the honey blond again.

"It's just…" Maura said, choking back the sobs. "Why haven't we heard from her?"

"I don't know, honey." Angela said, her face stiff and her voice uneven. It appeared she was struggling to be strong about as much as the doctor was. "But we'll hear from her soon, I'm sure."

"Oh my god!" Maura said, tears pouring from her eyes, wrapping her arms around Angela again. "What if she dies?"

"Shh…" Angela said, rubbing her back as soothingly as she could muster. But Ma Rizzoli could think of nothing else to do or say. The truth was, she was far too used to this feeling of hopeless helplessness. She was just sorry that Maura had to feel it too.

* * *

"Fuck!" Jane yelled as another loud crashing sound came from the bow. "Why the hell did I park this thing in an asteroid field again?"

"I think it had something to do with escaping that cruiser." Maura's voice retorted.

"Oh yeah." Jane said, straightening herself up in her seat. "Almost forgot about them."

"Seems they might have forgotten about you as well."

"Not likely." Jane said, turning the ship hard to starboard to avoid another asteroid. "But if they were going to destroy my ship, they would have done it already."

"_Your _ship? What about Korsak?"

"Yeah, it's his too. And Frost's. Really it's all of ours…" Jane said with a smile. "But…"

"But?"

"I'm the one that found her." Jane said with a proud smile as she cleared the last asteroid and set the ship to cruising speed. "She's my baby."

"Your baby, huh?"

"Yeah…" Jane said, dreamily, leaning back in her chair.

* * *

"_Can't you see it, Korsak?" Jane said spreading her arms and turning to look at him as they walked into the cargo bay. "We can take on a real crew. No more working for hire, moving from ship to ship, searching the planet end over end for jobs. We make our own work! We can follow leads and search for bounties without having to worry about how we're going to get there, whose permission we have to ask!"_

"_Starships require crew, Jane, not just pilots. We need an engineer, mechanics, not to mention someone to manage the canteen, people to keep the rooms clean, the machinery working properly. Two retired soldiers don't make a starship crew!" Korsak said, though he was starting to imagine the benefits of having his own bunk, making his own food in the canteen, being his own boss for once._

"_Well we've got you." Jane said enthusiastically, "You're a good pilot, and you know plenty about engines. I can do most of the grunt work until we hire on some more help. Oh! And there's Frost!"_

"_Frost?!" Korsak said with a grimace._

"_Yeah!" Jane said with a smile, "You remember him, right? I ran into him the other day! Hadn't seen him in forever. Well, anyway, you and I didn't have enough credit, and he was desperate for work, so I told him if he helped us out, we would split our hires with him."_

_Korsak rolled his eyes and looked annoyed at the prospect of working with the young soldier again. "What could Frost possibly contribute?"_

"_What do you mean?" Jane said incredulously, "He's young and strong and willing to work. He has everything to contribute!"_

"_Yeah but he…" Korsak said, trailing off as he realized he had no decent response. "Well, I just don't like him, okay?"_

_Jane looked at the sergeant out of the corner of her eye, a smirk spreading across her lips. She had a feeling that the old man was just being stubborn. Besides, she was fairly sure that the two would grow on each other quick enough._

* * *

"There it is!" Jane said, pointing to the bright point of light in the distance.

There was no response. Jane had forgotten that the voice had drifted away hours ago. It didn't stop her from talking like Maura was there anyway. She needed something to keep her spirits up as Serenity drifted through the black silence. Besides, she kind of missed Maura's company. Even if it was all in her head, it was better than being alone, and she couldn't help but worry that Hoyt's voice would return to haunt her like it did in her nightmares.

"Almost there…" Jane whispered, her eyelids feeling heavy. She shook her head and blinked, trying to keep herself from drifting off to sleep. "Just have the hardest part left… landing this thing before it completely falls apart."

To Be Continued

* * *

Okay. So this chapter is still way too long. So part three will be coming soon. At least this part is less of a cliff-hanger.


	10. Chapter 10 The Battle for Serenity, pt 3

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: Here you go, part 3 of 3.

Also, reviews make my day, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave even a short comment!

* * *

Chapter 10 – The Battle for Serenity, pt. 3

"She'll get here soon enough." Korsak said reassuringly, as Maura's gaze yet again drifted up to the cloudless sky.

"You don't know that." Maura said in a disheartened whisper, peering at him out of the corner of her eye. She wanted to believe the sergeant, but her logical mind was hard to overcome. They had left Jane on that ship all alone. The engines were failing, the compartments filling with smoke, the Alliance on her tail. How could they have just left her there? They might as well have tossed her out the airlock, that would have been less cruel.

Maura blinked up at the sky, squinting in the bright sunlight. Hazel eyes searched the endless atmosphere for some sign of an incoming ship, but they found nothing to focus on. The wide expanse of the sky made her grow dizzy and she finally looked down again, glancing at the Rizzoli's, who were talking with the few passengers that remained with them at the shuttles.

Angela looked tired and worried, but was distracting herself by looking after little Timmy, who was loudly refusing to let her wipe the dirt from his tear-stained face with her apron. Tommy was looking on at the two of them with an amused expression. Apparently, he was glad it wasn't he who was being fussed over for once. Frankie was talking with Frost and the two women Maura had treated earlier. From the concerned look on their faces and the way they occasionally glanced over at the boy, they were talking about what had happened to Timmy and his grandfather.

Maura wondered why the two women had not gone along with James to the hospital. Despite the fact that Paradiso did not offer the finest medicine possible, the small medical facility still had more medical equipment and trained personnel than Maura could offer them. Perhaps, there was another reason they had stayed behind.

"Melissa and Catherine…" Maura said, recalling their names after careful consideration. "Do you know why they didn't go into town to the hospital? They're burns really need the proper treatment, and I left most of my medical supplies on Serenity."

"Who?" Korsak said, shaking his head as if waking from a daydream.

"The two ladies we picked up on our last stop. I think they said their names were Melissa and Catherine. Do you know why they stayed behind?" Maura said nodding in the direction of the shuttle where Frankie and Frost stood talking to the pair.

"Oh, you mean the sisters?" Korsak asked.

"Catherine and Melissa are not sisters." Maura said matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Korsak said with a smirk, "And what makes you say that?"

"Their facial proportions, bone structure, hair color, eye color, they are all too dissimilar, the probability that they are blood relatives is very unlikely." Maura said with a curt nod.

"Is that all?" Korsak said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "That sounds like a guess to me. I thought Jane said you never guessed."

"I don't." Maura said simply, raising an eyebrow at him in return. "They also don't have the same surname."

"I still think you're jumping to conclusions." Korsak said with a shrug.

"I've made no assumptions as to the true identity of their relationship." Maura said simply. Then she smiled, "But I did see them kissing in the cargo hold."

"You what?" Korsak said blinking at her, looking flabbergasted. "No you didn't; not those two!"

"What?" Maura said, looking at him with disbelief. "You're not offended by them, are you?"

"Who? Les—lesbians?" Korsak said, almost choking on the word. "No, no, of course not! I mean…well…it's not really any of my business."

"You know, 'lesbian' isn't a dirty word, right?" Maura laughed at him.

"I know!" Korsak said, sitting up stiffly; he seemed rather uncomfortable with the topic. "It's just… I don't… really run into that many… you know?"

"Surely you know someone that's…" Maura said, eyeing him curiously.

"Gay?" Korsak finished, his face growing red. "Um… I… don't know… maybe."

"There's nothing wrong with it." Maura said, feeling starting to feel strangely defensive. Of course, there was no logical reason to be offended by homosexuality, and for some reason she was finding it somewhat troubling that Korsak seemed uncomfortable with it. She was just about to ask why the sergeant was suddenly feeling so awkward when she noticed that several people were pointing up at the sky.

"What's that?" Maura said in a low whisper as her eyes settled on a trail of fiery smoke streaking across the blue sky.

"Oh no…" Korsak said as he recognized the bright yellow glow. "That doesn't look good."

* * *

"Come on, Serenity!" Jane said, holding tight to the helm as the whole ship shook violently. "You can do this! We're almost there. Don't give up on me yet!"

Sweat was dripping freely from her brow. Her jaw was clenched tight, her knuckles white and her eyes narrowed. Jane's mouth was dry and her lips chapped. Every muscle in her body ached and the blood vessels pulsed in her temples.

If she was going to land this thing it was going to take every last ounce of energy she had left. Jane had no place left in her mind to worry about the growing heat as the sides of the ship caught fire. She could be concerned about the blood running down her face later, worry about the searing pain later. At this moment, there was nothing but her and Serenity and they were crashing down to the planet at full speed, with nothing more than the dirt below to catch them.

* * *

From the look on Korsak's face Maura knew just exactly what that falling ball of flame was. For the briefest second, her heart soared. Jane had made it. She was alive. But a millisecond later, it dawned on her, Serenity was wildly out of control. Jane was crashing towards them at a catastrophic speed. Unless Jane did something very quickly, she would not only crash Serenity into the ground, but also take out half of Paradiso with her in the resulting explosion.

"Vince!" Maura screamed, leaping to her feet, "There must be something we can do!"

"She's coming in too hard…" Korsak said, staring up at the approaching firebomb in disbelief.

"But she can land it, right?" Maura said, tears streaming down her face. "Please, Korsak, tell me she can!"

"Maura…I…" Korsak said, placing a hand on the doctor's shoulder. He had honestly doubted whether Jane would ever make it this far, and now she was so close. He wanted to believe in Jane's piloting skills, but a part of him knew that not even he could land a starship coming in that fast.

"Please?" Maura cried, her hand covering her mouth, which hung open in broken disbelief. She shook with silent sobs.

* * *

"Come on! Come on!" Jane said, desperately trying to restart the engines. She needed a backward thrust to slow Serenity's decent, but the engines were stalling again. "Come on, Serenity!"

The engines sputtered again. Then, another miracle happened, and they finally turned. She threw them instantly into reverse and pulled up as hard as she could. But her speed and angle decreased only very slightly. She was still coming in too hot.

"Damn it, Serenity!" Jane screamed as the ship passed low over the city.

The seconds passed by like hours as she gripped the controls, her muscles aching and her head throbbing. She swung the ship hard to starboard and came in for another pass, still falling to the planet at far too hard an angel and far too fast as a speed. But she had no choice. She could only fall for so long before she reached the ground.

* * *

"Dear god…" Maura exclaimed as the ship swept over them, only a few hundred feet off the ground. It circled fast over the city, a dark cloud of smoke in its wake. Then, very gradually, it turned back and it swept around again, this time a few hundred yards to the east and only about a hundred feet off the ground.

A few seconds later and about a half mile off, Serenity crashed into the earth, causing the ground under Maura's feet to quake. The sound of scraping metal and breaking ground barely had time to fill the doctor's ears before she went running off after it.

"Maura!" Korsak called after her. But there was no stopping her. She ran right past Angela and Tommy, right by Frost and Frankie, and straight into her shuttle. She wasn't all that good of a pilot yet, but she was going to get to Jane as fast as she possibly could, and considering the ship had not yet slowed it's passage through the open plain that lay to the north of town, she figured running all the way there wasn't exactly practical.

* * *

Jane awoke in a flaming cloud of smoke. She coughed violently, desperately gasping for air. She blinked her eyes, but everything was blurry and there was a searing pain in her abdomen. Her whole body stung of burns and her head was throbbing.

The captain tried to get up, but the movement sent violent waves of pain all throughout her body. She looked down. Blinking in the swirling smoke she saw something jutting from her gut, blood pouring from the wound. She didn't have time to think about what to do, nor to worry about the pain that would be involved. The flames were growing closer and the smoke growing thicker. She had to get out of there.

She grit her teeth, braced herself against the controls and pulled herself up and off of the piercing piece of metal. Jane nearly passed out from the shear amount of pain that coursed through her as she stood up. But she fought on.

Slowly, she climbed up the dash and out the shattered window into the bright sunlight above. She took in a deep breath of air as she cleared the smoke and slid down the bow of the ship and fell into the sand below.

"Jane!" Maura hollered as she stumbled of her shuttle and ran towards the wreckage. "Jane!"

Jane crawled forward, one hand to her bloody wound, the other trying desperately to push herself up so she could see. _Is that really her?_ She thought to herself. _Or just another…_

Maura's arms wrapping around her suddenly interrupted her thoughts. Jane buried her face in honey blond locks as the doctor dragged her as far as she could manage to get before she too fell over. The brunette was barely conscious but she could hear Maura crying and could feel her warm arms cradling her. She tried to speak, but even breathing was painful.

_Don't cry_. Jane thought as her consciousness drifted in and out, lulled by the sweet smell of Maura's perfume. _Please don't cry._

"Jane…" Maura cried, her arms wrapped tightly around her, holding tight to the bloody wound at her waist. "Jane…please don't die…"

"I … told you…" Jane said, curling her lips into a barely recognizable smile.

"You told me?" Maura said, tears still flowing from her hazel eyes. Jane reached up to Maura's face with a dirty hand. Maura shook her head in protest, "No, Jane, don't move, please."

"I'd meet …" Jane said, wiping a tear from beneath Maura's eye, "…you here."

* * *

Jane awoke in as much pain as she could ever remember being. Every muscle in her body ached, her skin burned, her head throbbed. But there was one sensation that overpowered them all, and that was the soft, warm hand that was gripping gently to her own.

She did not open her eyes. Instead, she lay very still and trying to focus on the feel of that thumb soothingly running over the top of her hand. Maybe if she could think just about that slow, gentle sensation, she could forget about all the pain that was coursing through her abdomen and out into the rest of her body.

"Jane…" a voice whispered, as if far off.

That was not the voice of her mother, whom she had originally assumed the hand belonged to. No, neither was the hand. Her mother's hand was somewhat larger, her fingers rougher. She had never felt a hand so soft and warm as the one that soothed her at that moment.

Jane's heart ached as she heard the voice say her name again. It was closer now, but still quiet and desperate. She knew that voice, it had lulled her to sleep on more than one occasion. She tried to squeeze the hand that held hers, but she found it difficult to do even this.

Jane slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at the heartbroken expression on that beautiful face and it almost made her want to cry. "Maur…" Jane said in a hoarse whisper.

"Jane!" Maura said, her hazel eyes brightening as their gazes met.

"Maura." Jane said with a weak smile. Her heart swelled in her chest as Maura beamed at her. _I don't think I've ever seen anything as beautiful as that smile._ Jane thought as Maura leaned closer to her.

"Thank goodness you're okay…" Maura said, her smile growing. "I don't know what I'd do if you…"

"I'm… fine…" Jane said between painful breaths.

"Hardly." Maura said, squeezing her hand gently. "You've been unconscious for nearly eighteen hours."

"Really?" Jane said with a small huff of a laugh. She frowned up at the doctor, studying her tear-stained face. Surely Maura had not spent all that time at her side.

"Yeah…" Maura said, finally releasing Jane's hand and sitting back with a loud yawn. "You had your mother worried nearly out of her mind."

"But you couldn't care less, right?" Jane teased. She found her hand seemed oddly empty and cold without Maura's wrapped around it.

"Of course I was worried!" Maura said indignantly. "I didn't trust those doctor's to do any better than I could."

"So, it was professional jealousy then?" Jane said with a half smirk.

"I can't believe you!" Maura said, irritably, "Barely conscious and you're already being facetious again!"

Jane smiled up at her. "Would you have me any other way?"

Maura glanced at her, trying to keep the stern look on her face. But Jane's smile was too contagious, even when it was as feeble and half-hearted as it was at that moment. The doctor's frown spread slowly into a smile and she shook her head.

"No," Maura said with a laugh, "I love you just the way you are."

The doctor suddenly grew very quiet. The words had slipped from her lips as if of their own accord. She looked down uneasily at Jane, who was glancing nervously up at her. Why was that word so loaded? Why did it make her heart beat so fast? Why did she suddenly want to take it back when Jane looked at her so anxiously?

"Janey!" Angela hollered as she entered the room very suddenly. It appeared to take everything within the older woman not to just leap at her daughter. Instead, she took Jane by each cheek and frantically kissed at her head and face.

"Ma!" Jane complained, grimacing as her bruised face was peppered with kisses.

"Ma, calm down!" Frankie said, pulling his mother back. "She just woke up, don't go suffocating her!"

"I'm not suffocating her!" Angela said, swatting at her son. "I'm just glad to see my baby alive."

"Let's just try to keep her that way, Ma." Tommy said, nudging his brother with a laugh.

"Will you two get off my case!" Angela said, rolling her eyes.

Maura quietly got up and slipped away. She wanted to talk with Jane, but that could wait for now. She was just glad that Jane was going to be okay. Right now she felt like she was intruding on something private.

"And _you,_" Angela said, rounding on Jane and pointing her finger at her fiercely, "I can't believe you!"

"What?" Jane said, looking up at her with a disbelieving expression. "Hey! I'm the injured one, remember?"

"_Yes_!" Angela said, pursing her lips angrily, looking dangerously close smacking her daughter upside the head. "Yet again you went and nearly got yourself _killed_!"

"Ma!" Jane said defensively, "I only did that to save you guys!"

Angela crossed her arms and gave her daughter an incredulous look. She knew just as well as Jane that she had put herself in unnecessary danger just to save her beloved ship. Jane had always clung tightly to the motto that the captain goes down with the ship, and any time the going got rough she would get everyone out of danger before saving Serenity without a moment to spare.

Jane started to feel uneasy under her mother's glare. She knew she probably should care more about her own wellbeing, but it wasn't easy. As a ship captain there were just so many other lives she was responsible for. Even before Serenity, she had all those soldiers to look after. If she failed them, if they were injured or killed on her watch, her life didn't really mean much.

"Ma…" Jane said, breaking the tense silence. Her voice was quiet, her expression remorseful.

Angela patted Jane's knee softly, a small smile peaking from underneath her frown, "You worry me, Jane. You're not invincible, you know."

"Of course, Ma, I know that." Jane said with a cautious smile.

"Yeah, but no one could have landed that ball of flame like Jane did!" Tommy said with a beaming smile.

"No less get the thing flying again in the first place." Frankie said with a curious frown. "How did you even make it here in one piece?"

"I nearly didn't." Jane said quietly. "Maura h—hey, where's Maura?"

The Rizzoli's all turned around. The doctor had slipped off so quietly that none of them had noticed. But now that Jane mentioned it, they wondered where she had gone.

Having not felt comfortable being in the room while Jane met with her family, Maura had left to find the doctor to talk about Jane's treatments. But Jane's doctor was somewhere making his rounds, so Maura decided to take a walk through the small hospital and stretch her legs. She soon found herself outside the morgue.

She frowned as she read the sign on the door. Why had she ended up here? Jane's doctor certainly would not be down here, nor would any one else she knew. _But that isn't true,_ she thought, _Mr. Anderson's body is down here._

The doctor didn't know why her thoughts had turned to the kind, old man. She had thought of nothing but Jane all day long. Still, all of a sudden, she felt as if she had been ignoring something very important in regards to Timmy's grandfather. But what was it that she had forgotten?

Maura peaked inside the room. Paradiso's hospital was very small, and poorly equipped. Its morgue was even more ill furnished. There were only a few examination tables, a table with some autopsy tools and no cold storage to speak of. The doctor could not help but turn her nose up at the smell. She had spent plenty of time in morgues, in fact she usually felt comfortable hidden away from the usual hustle and bustle of the hospital environment, but without any refrigeration, the bodies here were quickly decomposing.

There were only two bodies in the morgue. Aside from Mr. Anderson's body, there was one other; both were covered with simple white sheets. The body at the back of the room was marked "John Doe," and from the smell had been there several days. Mr. Anderson was on the closest table.

The doctor pulled back the sheet to expose the upper half of the old man's corpse. Immediately, a curious frown spread across her brow. There was a dark bruise visible on his face, over the mouth and chin. Also there was a large bruise over his collarbone.

Taking some gloves from the table nearby, she pressed gently on the man's shoulder. The collarbone was clearly broken. Maura's frown deepened. She did not remember Mr. Anderson having any broken bones or bruises when she checked over him the day before.

Considering the lack of equipment available, doing a full autopsy would be impossible. But that didn't stop Maura from doing whatever she could to determine the cause of Mr. Anderson's death. She wouldn't know for sure until she finished, but she was starting to doubt that he had simply died of his initial injuries. It was looking more and more like Mr. Anderson had not died of natural causes.

* * *

It was nearly two hours later before Jane was finally left alone to rest. Her brothers had work to do, digging through what was left of the ship, and her mother was finally convinced to go back to Maura's shuttle to get some rest by the fact that Jane actually got out of bed to push her out of her room and into the hall. Shortly after that Korsak and Frost came by to discuss what was going to be done with the medical supplies they had for Sheriff Bourne. But they did not stay long, because Jane's doctor stopped by to check on her. Soon after, Jane laid down with a sigh, feeling exhausted and eager to get some rest.

"Jane!" Maura said breathlessly, her voice a harsh whisper.

"What?" Jane said irritably, burying her face in her pillow.

"I just got back from the morgue." Maura said, still sounding as if she were out of breath.

"The morgue?" Jane said, sitting up so suddenly she could feel her stitches stretching. "Ah! What were…what were you doing down there?"

"Examining Mr. Anderson's body." Maura said with a wave of her hand, as if it were obvious.

"What?! You mean that old man… the one with the little boy?" Jane said, becoming very unsettled.

"Oh no!" Maura said, looking very sorrowful. "No one told you? Of course they didn't; they probably didn't want to upset you."

"No, no one did." Jane said, feeling more heartbroken by the guilty look on Maura's face than anything else. "What happened, Maur?"

"I don't know." Maura said shaking her head sorrowfully, "At least, I'm not one hundred percent sure… but…"

"What is it, Maura?" Jane said, growing suspicious. "Did something happen on your way here?"

"I don't know for sure." Maura said. "When James first told me Mr. Anderson had died I was confused. There was no reason to believe he would not fully recover. We were so worried about Timmy having a concussion, I figured I just overlooked something…."

Maura was quiet. She was still feeling guilty about not watching the passengers more carefully. She might have been upset about what might happen to Jane, but that didn't mean she could just ignore her responsibilities.

"Maura, I'm sure it wasn't your fault." Jane said, placing a hand reassuringly on the doctor's.

"But that's the thing," Maura said, looking up at her with a strangely curious expression, "I don't think it was."

"What do you mean, Maur?" Jane said with a frown.

"I did an autopsy." Maura said. "Well, as much of one as I could. He only had very limited damage to his lung tissue, some second-degree burns to the epidermis of his hands and arms. I just don't understand why he didn't recover like I thought he would."

"Did you notice anything else?" Jane encouraged, she could tell by the way Maura was looking at her out of the corner of her eye, that there was something she was holding back.

"Well, there was the bruising…" Maura admitted. "I can't explain the contusions on his face and chest."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "Maura, what did these bruises look like?"

"Jane…" Maura said in a reluctant tone. She knew what Jane was implying, but she really _hated_ guessing. "There's no objective way of describing what the bruises _looked like_."

"But could they be hand prints?" Jane said, looking at Maura sternly, "Could Mr. Anderson have been forcefully suffocated?"

"Jane!" Maura said, pursing her lips angrily. "I _do not_ guess!"

"But is it _possible_?" Jane insisted.

"Yes!" Maura relented. "I suppose it's possible."

"Maura," Jane said, looking at her with concern, "who was the last person with Mr. Anderson before you found him?"

"That would be Timmy or… or James." Maura said, her face a mix of confusion and suspicion. "James Todd was the one to tell me he had passed. He moved the body to the other room so the other passengers would not be upset by it."

"Did anyone else see Mr. Anderson before that?" Jane asked eagerly, "Did any of the other passengers confirm his story?"

"No." Maura said, giving Jane a startled look. "I didn't ask anyone else. I didn't see a reason to."

"But now it seems we have a reason to." Jane said quietly. She was trying not to be frustrated with Maura. She really didn't have a reason to question what Todd had told her, at least from what Jane could understand. But now that most of the passengers were gone, there would be no way to confirm what really had happened.

"Oh!" Maura said excitedly, "Barry and Frankie were talking to those two women yesterday, they seemed worried about something. Maybe they saw something?"

"Maybe they did." Jane said with a nod, her voice trailing off. Her mind was busy trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Why would anyone want to kill Mr. Anderson? That James fellow seemed pretty nice. Could he really have murdered the old man?

"Did you want me to go and find Frankie?" Maura suggested. She just wanted to help somehow. She had gone from believing that she was responsible for Mr. Anderson's death to feeling like she had let his killer slip through thier fingers.

"No…" Jane said with a wave of her hand. "He went with Tommy to go see what is left of Serenity. He won't be back for quite a while."

"Oh…" Maura said softly. "Well, is there anything else I can do for you."

Jane was quiet for a moment. She looked up at her friend with a shy smile. _Would it be weird to just ask her to sit here with me while I sleep?_ Jane thought to herself. _I think that would be too weird._

"No…" Jane said with a sigh as she leaned back. "I'm fine. You've done so much already."

"No, not really." Maura said with a slow shake of her head. "I've really only just sat here."

Jane closed her eyes and rest her head back on her pillow, trying not to smile too wide. She ignored the nervous thump of her heart and just said what she was feeling, "But that's what I mean. You're always just here. I like that."

"You do?" Maura said, her wide smile evident in her tone.

Jane opened one eye and peaked at her. Maura's hazel eyes were bright and her cheeks somewhat flushed. Jane's heart pounded loudly in her chest. The honey blond was so beautiful when she blushed like that.

The brunette closed her eyes again and shifted in her blankets, a smile spreading across her face. It was a lot easier to calm this flutter of her heart without seeing those hazel eyes gazing at her. She tried with all her might not to think about why there were butterflies in her stomach, but the feel of Maura's eyes on her made it impossible to stay still.

"Jane?" Maura said after a moment of silence between them.

"Yes, Maur?" Jane said, reaching her hand out so the honey blond could hold it. She could sense the apprehensiveness in Maura's voice. Jane had a hard time keeping her eyes closed as she pretended to be dozing. The doctor's hands were so soft and warm in hers.

"Vincent was telling me the story about how you named your ship…" Maura said quietly.

"He was, was he?" Jane said with a small laugh, opening her eyes briefly to look curiously at Maura. "And what did he tell you?"

"Well…" Maura said, glancing at Jane only momentarily, her eyes mainly focused on her unsteady hands as they held Jane's. "He never finished the story actually."

"So he told you about what happened on Hera?" Jane said, gulping and trying to focus on anything other than Maura's fingers intertwining with her own.

"Yes…" Maura said breathlessly.

"And he told you about when we bought the ship?" Jane continued, barely able to concentrate on anything other than Maura's hands on hers. She kept her eyes closed, afraid that if she opened them Maura might be able to tell how her touch was making her heart race.

"Yes," Maura said, her voice shaking slightly, "although he didn't seem to have had much choice in the matter."

"Not really, no." Jane laughed nervously. "What else did he tell you?"

"Not much, that was when I left to go check on Timmy." Maura said, her heart growing heavy as she remembered what she had discovered then.

Sensing Maura was getting down on herself again, Jane squeezed Maura's hand encouragingly. "Well then," she said, peaking at Maura quickly again, "you haven't even got to the best part."

"The best part, huh?" Maura laughed.

"I think so, yeah." Jane said with a shrug.

"So are you going to finish the story for me?" Maura said, looking at Jane with an impossibly adorable smile.

"Well I guess so," Jane said looking at her with a smirk, "but only if you promise to stay."

"Stay?" Maura asked curiously.

"Stay here with me." Jane nodded to Maura's chair, but for half a second she thought she might just want Maura to stay with her for good, to never leave. This thought scared her, so she added. "And keep my mother away so I can actually get some rest."

"Sure," Maura said with a smile and a nod, "no motherly visits. Doctor's orders."

"It's a deal then." Jane said, unable to control the wide smile spreading across her face.

* * *

"_It's no use!" Korsak said kicking the engine angrily. He winced and grabbed his foot almost immediately._

"_Have patience, Korsak!" Jane said, patting him firmly on the back._

"_I'm too old to have patience." Korsak said irritably, limping over to the wall to sit down._

"_Old and useless." Frost said under his breath._

"_What'd you call me?!" Korsak said, attempting to get to his feet but failing._

_Jane and Frost snorted. But then Korsak finally stood up and charged at Frost. _

"_Hey!" Jane said, stepping between the two of them. "Calm down, Korsak!"_

"_This is pointless!" Korsak said, gesturing to the engine._

_They had been trying to get it started for nearly an hour. They originally tried to start the engine from the bridge, but when that failed they headed down to the engine room to try and figure out what the problem was. _

"_I think he's right, Jane." Frost said with a sigh. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the engine with disappointment. "She's just not going to fly. She's a dying bird."_

"_Serenity _is_ going to fly!" Jane yelled, slamming the ignition for the forty-somethingth time. "She's has a mission!"_

_The engine kicked up again. A high-pitched tone erupted from it again as the gears ground together and the metal parts turned. Then, finally, the engine turned over and started groaning, the parts gaining momentum. _

"_See!" Jane hollered over the noise. "I told you! She just needed someone to believe in her."_

"_I guess so…" Frost said loudly, looking at the machinery in awe._

"_So, what's her mission?" Korsak said as they headed to the bridge._

"_What?" Jane said with a frown._

"_You said Serenity had a mission. What's her mission?" Korsak repeated._

"_I thought that was obvious." Jane said smiling at him._

"_Well, it's not, so enlighten me." Korsak said, nudging her teasingly. _

"_Yeah, why'd you name her Serenity in the first place?" Frost added. "I thought you'd want to leave all those war stories behind you. I certainly do."_

"_I'm shocked at you, Frost!" Jane said as she took a seat at the helm. "After all, it was your idea to keep on fighting in the first place."_

"_Yeah, but it was stupid…" Frost said with a sigh. "What was the point anyway? We lost that battle long before we even arrived on Hera."_

"_We might have lost that battle, and the War, but we never lost our dignity. We didn't give up without a fight like some of those border colonies that just gave into the Alliance's demands." Jane said, looking out into the stars ahead of them with a solemn look on her face. _

"_So, why not call her Dignity or something like that?" Frost laughed._

_Jane rounded on him. She was rarely so serious, but when she was, she did not appreciate being mocked. "Because, the word Serenity means something to me. And it should mean something to you. Every time I say that word, I remember that day, I remember all those soldiers we lost, all those hopes crushed, all that time and effort seemingly wasted."_

"But those soldiers were not lost in vain, Maura." Jane said, her lip stiff as she tried to hold back all the emotion pent up inside her. "The Independent's hopes of free government might have been dashed, but their time—our time, our efforts were never wasted. We fought for what we believed in and we should never regret that—no matter the outcome.

"Because life is a war, a battle for what's right and just. And we can lose that battle, Maura; we lose all the time. But not really—it only feels like we lost because sometimes the bad guys, they win the fight—'cause we only really lose when we give up. But as long as we keep on trying, as long as we never give up we have a chance—a tiny, miniscule chance—of finding it. Finding what we're looking for."

Maura's eyes were watery and she was smiling at Jane with the biggest smile Jane had ever seen. She looked as if she wanted to just throw her arms around Jane and squeeze her until she just couldn't stand it anymore. Instead, Maura raised her eyebrows and looked expectantly at her, as if waiting for her to finish.

When Jane didn't say anything she squeezed her hand and said, "And what is it we're looking for?!"

"I thought that was obvious." Jane said with a clever smirk. "We're looking for peace—for an end to the constant war—for serenity."

(To Be Continued)


	11. Chapter 11 Recovering

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: Reviews make my day, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave even a short comment!

* * *

Chapter 11 – Recovering

"Frankie?!" Angela screeched down into the dark hole in the side of the rubble of the ship's hull. "Answer me right this minute young man!"

"Ma!" Frankie said popping he head out of the rubble with an agitated expression on his grease-covered face. "We're a bit busy here!"

Ma Rizzoli pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her eldest son. She did not appreciate being scolded. As far as she was concerned, it was her place to do the scolding.

"You need to be careful in there!" Angela said peaking inside cautiously. "We don't need another one of you getting hurt. Where's Tommy? Frankie, he better not be in there with you! His arm is still healing."

"No, Ma, I'm up here!" Tommy said from atop the ship, a bright smile spreading across his face. He waved enthusiastically down at his mother before losing his balance and nearly falling over.

"Tommy you get down from there right this instant!" Angela screamed up at him. "You shouldn't be working anyway, you're still not healed yet!"

"Actually," Maura cautiously interjected, "Tommy's injury is recovering well. A little light work will keep the muscles from atrophying."

"Well," Angela said with a sigh, "he can at least come back down here where it's safe!"

"Does it look like it can be saved?" Maura asked Frankie curiously.

Frankie climbed out of the ship, wiping his hands on a cloth and giving the doctor a shrug. "I'm no ship's mechanic, but I'd guess that if she's ever going to fly again, she's gonna need a whole heck of a lot of work."

"Not to mention getting it dug out of the ground." Angela added, looking at the wreckage with a pitiful expression on her face.

"That's going to be the hardest part." Tommy said, having safely slipped down onto the ground again. "She's gotta be buried at least four meters into the earth, the engines are shot, and I don't think there's a vehicle on this planet that can drag her outta there."

The four were silent for a while as they looked over the mess before them. Serenity was a sad sight. There was a large gaping hole in the bow, spreading down the starboard side. The window was shattered where Jane had escaped the day before and the metal was charred and bent where it had scrapped across the ground. The fires had long been put out, but every once in a while a breeze would cause a swirling haze of ash to escape from within, like a black puff of smoke.

Just thinking about how much work would be involved in getting Serenity up and flying again was horribly disheartening. They were stuck on a planet that was not very advanced, and on which Jane and the crew had few connections. Even if they managed to dig the ship out and attempt to fix it up, they had little money for supplies, and not many suppliers to choose from.

"How long do you think it will take?" Maura asked, almost afraid to even hear the answer.

"To dig her out or to get her flying again?" Tommy said with a sigh.

Maura did not reply immediately. She looked at the wreckage with a sad smile, guessing they would be stuck on this planet far longer than they had originally planned. It wasn't that being planet-bound necessarily bothered her; it was just that she had gotten so used to moving around, that she started to feel nervous whenever she was stuck anywhere too long. She was far easier to track down when she stayed in one place, and she really didn't want to be found again.

"I'm just worried about Jane…" Maura said with a quiet sigh. And it wasn't untrue. She was concerned for her friend. Maura didn't think she had ever met anyone as restless as Captain Rizzoli. What would Jane do now? For that matter, what would the sight of a broken Serenity do to her?

"This ship is very special to her." Maura observed quietly.

"It's very special to all of us." Angela said, putting an arm around Maura's shoulder and hugging her softly. Maura's eyes were glistening and she had a hand to her mouth as she took the sight in. It was starting to sink in just how much Serenity was like her home. Angela could sense how forlorn Maura was feeling so she added, "What's important is that we are all together and we are all going to be okay."

"I know…" Maura said quietly, resting her head on Angela's shoulder and simply enjoying the brief moment of familiarity.

* * *

"How ya feeling Detective?" Korsak said with a warm smile, patting Jane softly on the shoulder.

"Don't know why they insist on keeping me here." Jane said with a wide smile. Still, when she sat up she winced visibly. "I feel fine."

"Maybe 'cause you ripped your gut open and lost like three liters of blood." Frost said with a laugh, sitting next to Jane's bed.

"Don't let Maura hear you exaggerating like that." Jane said, her eyes still bright with her smile. "She'll be sure to tell you that a person can't survive that much blood loss."

"I'm sure she would." Frost said, watching Jane with a smile but his eyes narrowed.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Jane said suspiciously.

Frost shook his head, "Nothing."

Jane frowned at him but Korsak changed the subject before she could inquire more. "We talked to Sheriff Bourne." He said in a slightly agitated tone.

"He didn't back down did he?" Jane said, her heart sinking. They _needed_ that money. Without it they had no hope of feeding the crew, no less getting the hell off this planet.

"No…" Korsak said, eyeing Jane cautiously, "not exactly."

"What does that mean?" Jane said, growing irritated.

"He says he doesn't have the money—"

"How does he not have the money? All sorts of business goes through this place! He's practically in charge around here! What happened to his buyers?" Jane said rubbing her face in frustration.

"He says they backed out. They found out the supplies came from an Alliance hospital. They don't want to get involved." Frost explained, continuing before Jane could interrupt him. "The Sheriff still wants to buy the supplies, he just doesn't have the coin right now."

"What does he expect us to do, just wait around for it?" Jane said with exasperation.

"We might not have much choice anyway…" Korsak said with quiet anxiousness.

"What do you mean?" Jane said, frowning between the two of them.

"Jane…" Frost started cautiously. "How much do you remember about how you got here?"

Jane was quiet for a long moment. She had not thought about it much. The past couple days were a messy blur in her mind. She remembered the explosions and the fire, how she had evacuated the ship, and then she had vented the smoke. Much of what happened after that was hard to separate from the strange dreams she had been having since. Had Maura been there? She was the one who had helped her fix the engines—except Maura had escaped with the others. Jane couldn't recall much more than that. All she remembered distinctly was Maura running towards her and then she woke up here at the hospital.

"Jane you barely made it here… Serenity…" Frost explained breathlessly.

With all the concern over Jane's wellbeing, no one had had the heart talk to her about what had happened. Frankly, no one had considered that she did not remember the extreme measures she had gone to land the ship. Now that her partners realized they would have to tell her that if it was ever to be fixed, they were stuck on this planet for at least six weeks.

But it all sunk in as Jane's memory started to recover. Her expression quickly drifted from mild confusion to devastating heartbreak and finally to blatant outrage. Jane recovered control, however by changing the subject and diverting her anger there. "So how much can he pay?"

"He said he could possibly come up with half on his own." Korsak replied.

"Half?!" Jane said running her fingers through her hair. "We can barely live on half! We've got no where to sleep, no food, no supplies!"

"Actually, Frankie and Tommy managed to recover some of the food stores from the canteen, and both the shuttles are still intact." Korsak said with an encouraging smile.

"That won't last us nearly long enough…" Jane said, her voice trailing off as she closed her eyes and tried to think.

"Well Dr. Isles has already been asked to help here at the hospital. I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping us out for a while…" Korsak suggested.

"I can't ask her to do that…" Jane said with a frustrated sigh.

"What am I not part of the crew as well?" Maura said with a falsely agitated tone.

Jane blinked up at the doctor with a surprised expression. She had not noticed Maura enter the room. The brunette smiled up at her apologetically in response.

"No, of course you are, Maur. It's just … you've done so much for us already." Jane said with a sad smile. "I could never ask you to use your own money just to support us."

"Jane! You've saved my life, more than once! You've taken me in and given me a home. You and your family have treated me more kindly than anyone I've ever met. More than that, you're my friend! Besides, you already know money isn't really an issue for me." Maura said, grasping Jane's hand pleadingly.

The captain avoided Maura's eyes. She was always reluctant to accept help, especially financial help, even when she most needed it. She had been raised to believe that people should make their own way in the world. What was ironic was how often she willingly helped others expecting nothing in return.

There was a long silence amongst them. Jane was both unwilling to accept Maura's aid and unable to look her in the face and tell her no. Instead, she changed the subject, hoping that she could figure something else out later.

"Have we found out anything more about this James Todd fellow?" Jane said, keeping her gaze determinedly on Korsak and Frost.

"Sheriff Bourne couldn't find anything on him." Frost replied after glancing at Maura quickly. "Of course he doesn't have access to Alliance records out here."

"Did you find out where he was staying? What he was up to?" Jane asked eagerly. She looked restless and agitated. Maura was beginning to worry she might try to get up from her bed to go find the answers herself.

"Well we were sort of suspicious from what Catherine and Melissa told us, but we didn't think Todd was a suspect or anything…" Frost said curiously. He looked to the doctor with a furrowed brow, "Did Todd do something to Mr. Anderson after he moved him into that room?"

"James Todd murdered him." Jane growled angrily.

"Jane! We don't know that." Maura corrected her. "There's no definitive way of proving it was James."

"What did Melissa and Catherine say anyway?" Jane said, ignoring Maura's agitated reply.

"Catherine didn't see much," Frost explained, "she was asleep. But Melissa said she had grown concerned for the old man when he started having a coughing fit. She couldn't find Maura, so she asked Todd to attend to him. Apparently there was nothing he could do, because he went on coughing for a long time, and the boy started crying. When some other passengers started looking at them Todd grew angry. Melissa says he shook the boy pretty hard."

"Oh Dear!" Maura exclaimed, putting a hand to her mouth. "I can't believe I let him alone with them. I never should have…"

"Maura, this was _not_ your fault." Jane said, placing a hand on Maura's shoulder reassuringly.

"No, Doctor Isles, there is no way you could have known what James Todd was like." Korsak encouraged.

"Well, anyway," Frost continued, giving Maura a heartening smile, "Melissa said that after a while the old man started breathing better and the boy finally calmed down. Apparently, Catherine waking up distracted her. Next thing she knew the boy was alone. The old man and Todd were gone."

Jane frowned at Frost contemplatively. All the evidence was circumstantial. They needed some sort of physical proof before Sheriff Bourne would have any good reason to even question Todd. That is, if he hadn't fled the planet already.

"But what reason would he have to kill Mr. Anderson?" Jane thought aloud.

"His behavior may indicate some sort of psychological disorder, perhaps anti-social personality disorder. There may be a reason he never completed medical training. The Alliance does a lot of physical and psychological screening before sponsoring medical students. If it weren't for the influence of my parents I probably never would have passed the screenings to get into medical school." Maura said matter-of-factly.

Jane frowned at her. "What are you talking about? You're not crazy or anything like that."

Maura was very quiet. She glanced at Frost and Korsak briefly. Her and Jane had discussed her relationship with her parents only very briefly. She had described a lot of "benign neglect" but had not elaborated very much. While she felt comfortable explaining these issues with Jane, she didn't exactly enjoy letting everyone in on her familial issues. Everyone knew she was a bit quirky, but no one really thought about why.

"The Alliance has very high standards for the physical abilities and emotional stability of their medical professionals." Maura stated softly, glancing briefly up into Jane's coffee brown eyes. The brunette smiled understandingly.

"So," Jane said to the room in general rather than to anyone specific, "Todd has probably applied to an Alliance medical training program. That would mean they have a record of him somewhere."

"What are you thinking Jane?" Frost said, sitting on the edge of his seat. The prospect of being on another hunt had him excited. There may not be any pay in this job, but just like Jane, he'd much rather be out hunting down criminals than hanging around a hospital or fixing up the ship.

"Maura?" Jane said, turning to the honey blond curiously. "Do you have any access to Alliance records?"

Maura frowned at her. She did not seem to be following her logic. "Well," she said, "It's been months since I've worked in an Alliance operated hospital, but I did have a passcode for system access. I'd be surprised if it still worked—"

"Korsak?" Jane said eagerly, not even letting the doctor finish, "does this hospital have any Alliance system access at all?"

"Well, yeah, I've noticed some consoles. Their resources are limited, but the Alliance still monitors this facility from what I can tell." Korsak said with an animated nod.

A wide smile spread across Jane's face as she started to hatch a plan. Korsak smiled at her knowingly. Had he not already known that there would be no stopping the young captain he might have warned her that she wasn't really in any condition to be gallivanting around the hospital trying to collect information on a dangerous criminal. But as he had already guessed, Jane was planning on using her situation to her advantage.

* * *

"Jane…" the doctor complained in Jane's ear, her voice barely more than a whisper. "This is dangerous. The Alliance is sure to pick up on our activity if we just log into the system! Besides, you're in no condition to be moving around the hospital like this! You need rest."

"Maura!" Jane whispered sharply, "We already discussed this. We need to find out who this guy is. He was on my ship, Maur. He could have just as easily hurt one of my crew, my family, hurt you!"

Jane was still in her hospital gown, siting in a wheelchair, with Maura pushing her along at a steady pace. The doctor pursed her lips and stared down the hall in angry silence. She did not like this plan of Jane's. It put them both in unnecessary danger. And like she said, Jane should really be back in her room recovering. But Jane had insisted this was necessary and Maura had eventually relented, though she couldn't say why.

"If we access the system for your records not only is the Alliance going to track you down, but they'll track me down as well. I don't need Paddy Doyle finding me again." Maura said in a low whisper as they passed a nurse's station.

"You think he has access to that information?" Jane asked curiously, wondering if perhaps Maura was being a little paranoid.

"How else would he be able to keep such close tabs on me?" Maura said, completely serious. "He has to have some sort of connections with the government."

"I don't know," Jane said with a shrug, Maura wasn't really the type to be paranoid anyway, "I guess you're right. But don't worry about that, Maura, we're not actually accessing my records anyway."

"But you told that clerk that…" Maura said, confused.

"You might not be able to lie, Maura," Jane said with a smirk, "but that doesn't mean I can't."

The wheelchair came to a sudden halt and Jane lurched forward. She had barely had time to recover, grunting "What the hell?" under her breath, before Maura turned on her.

"Jane, I can't be a part of this deception!" Maura said, narrowing her gaze at the brunette.

"Deception?" Jane laughed. "You act as if we lied under oath or something! Maura, you don't have to say anything. I'll do the talking, alright?"

"But what if they ask me something?" Maura said. "You told that clerk I'm your doctor… that's not really true either."

"Will you calm down, Maur? It's not a big deal, okay?" Jane said, looking at the honey blond in disbelief. She was breathing very quickly and her face was growing red. "Don't hyperventilate, okay? It's just a little lie."

"So?" Maura said trying to focus on her breathing. "I just don't lie. I'm not good at it."

"Never?" Jane said looking at her incredulously. "You _never_ lie?"

"No." Maura responded shortly.

"Come on! You've never told even a white lie?" Jane prodded.

"A 'white lie' is still a lie."

"Really?" Jane retorted, "So you've never told a guy he was good when he wasn't?"

Maura didn't even have to think about it. "No, I haven't."

Jane rolled her eyes skeptically. She honestly didn't understand how anyone could get this far in life without ever bending the truth, no less someone on the run like Maura.

"It's not a big deal, Maur." Jane assured her. "You just smile and try not to break out in hives, okay?"

The doctor narrowed her gaze, looking agitated. When this tactic didn't work she grew pouty. "Why can't Frost pretend to be your doctor?" Maura suggested.

"Where is he anyway?" Jane said with a frown, peaking down the hall. "We're going to need his tech know-how."

"Can I help you with something?" said a middle-aged nurse.

"Yes, my doctor here says you have access to my medical records here." Jane said, gesturing to Maura with a smile.

The nurse frowned at Maura and then looked back down at Jane. "Only physicians registered with the Alliance have access to their medical records."

"I know," Jane said with a courteous smile, "but see Dr. Isles here is my concierge doctor. She's been traveling with me all the way from Persephone. We're afraid that my attending physician may not have all the information necessary to treat me. It's so hard to remember all those medications and treatments after all."

The nurse narrowed her eyes at Maura the more Jane spoke, so the brunette nudged the doctor subtly. Instinctively, Maura nodded, but said nothing. So, Jane prodded her harder, "Right, Dr. Isles."

"Yes!" Maura said almost wincing with how hard Jane had elbowed her. "The Alliance medical teams keep very detailed digital records."

"Okay…" the nurse said hesitantly, but a polite smile slowly spread across her face. "There should be a console at the end of the hall. You'll need the proper access codes. But next time I'd suggest you have your attending access your files upon your admittance. It would save the hassle of coming all the way up here."

"Thanks," Jane said with a nod. "I'll keep that in mind. Doctor Isles, shall we?"

Maura had just realized that Jane meant for her to continue to wheel her down the hall when Jane spotted Frost. With the nurse still in earshot, and watching them suspiciously, Jane smiled brightly and reached her hand out.

"There you are honey!" Jane said, taking Frost's hand in her own. "I've been looking for you."

Frost froze in place and blinked at Jane in shock. If it weren't for Jane widening her eyes and muttering under her breath for him to "play along" he might have continued to stare at her bewildered. After a moment it seemed to settle in and he smiled, "Oh! Yes, how are you feeling … babe?"

Maura quickly pushed Jane down the hall, as the two made awkward small talk. It was a good thing they drifted out of earshot of the suspicious nurse, because they became less and less convincing the longer they were forced to hold hands. Maura frowned down at their interlinked hands. After getting over the initial shock of seeing Jane touch Frost in a more than friendly manner, she realized that her face was growing hot and that her jaw was clenched. Was she jealous?

"Oh thank god!" Jane said, finally releasing Frost's hand as they turned the corner. She wiped her hand on her gown and made a gagging sound.

"Hey!" Frost said, shaking his hand vigorously as if it were sweaty. "It's not like I have cooties or something."

"Sure if you say so." Jane said sardonically. Her face grew serious as they approached the console. "Quick, get to work before that nurse comes back to interrogate us some more!"

* * *

"So where do we look first?" Frankie said as more of a way to end the awkward silence than anything else.

"We have to stop by to see the Sheriff before we do anything else." Korsak said shortly, keeping his eyes forward as he drove the ATV into town.

"What for?" Frankie said curiously, "I thought he didn't have anything on him."

"Got business with him." Korsak said, still not looking at Jane's brother.

"What kind of business?" Frankie inquired. "I thought you guys were trying to find this James Todd fellow. Don't you think we should get on that right away?"

"This is more important okay?" Korsak said, growing agitated.

"This Todd has killed a man. For all we know, he could kill again. Don't you think that's a bit more important than making a few bucks?" Frankie said, glaring at the back of Korsak's head. Jane's old partner sure wasn't being one for conversation and he wasn't making much sense either. "What's the cargo, huh? What's so important it takes priority over a bounty like Todd."

"There's no bounty on Todd." Korsak said simply.

"So this is about money!" Frankie exclaimed.

"It's not, okay!" Korsak hollered. "Now just shut your trap before I toss you off this thing and let you walk there."

"Man, someone's grumpy." Frankie mumbled under his breath.

"Kid, you're worse than Frost!" Korsak muttered angrily.

"Who are you kidding? Everyone knows you have a soft spot for Frost." Frankie laughed.

"Can't stand the man." Korsak said with a shake of his head. "Think he knows everything about everything. He doesn't know anything."

Frankie smiled. He might not be a notorious bounty hunter like his sister, but he knew how to read people, how to piece things together. He knew that Korsak only complained about Frost to have the excuse to talk about him. He'd been noticing a lot of that kind of behavior from his sister lately, only she complained about how Maura was always correcting her and going on with her "dictionary mouth." The only thing was, when Jane complained about the doctor, she couldn't help but smile, in a way Frankie had never seen her smile before.

"Sure." Frankie said with a laugh as he rolled his eyes. He wasn't as clueless as everyone assumed he was. "You really hate the guy."

"Exactly." Korsak said decisively.

* * *

"The people of Paradiso thank you kindly." Sheriff Bourne said with a wide smile as he vigorously shook Korsak's hand.

"As long as you pay up before we ship out, it's no problem." Korsak said with a nod.

"Yes, definitely. I'm sure I can raise the rest in the next month, if not sooner." Bourne said with a nod, finally releasing Korsak's hand.

"Well we won't be able to fix up our old Firefly for at least six weeks, but the sooner you can get us the rest, the sooner we can afford to purchase the supplies we'll need." Korsak responded.

"What's up with your lackey?" Bourne said, nodding at Frankie, who was waiting at the ATV several yards away.

"The little he knows the better, if you know what I mean." Korsak responded.

"He looks mighty curious." Bourne said with a laugh, looking at the young man, who appeared to be listening intently in their direction.

"Tell me about it." Korsak said, rolling his eyes.

* * *

"How long is this going to take?" Jane said in a hushed but irritated voice.

"It's not like I just type a few things and then it just lets me in!" Frost said irritably. "It takes some… persuading."

"Well hurry up and persuade it!" Jane said, prodding him in the shoulder. "We only got so much time before Nurse Nosey comes checking up on us."

"I don't think her name was…" Maura started, but quieted as Jane rounded on her.

"Thank you Doctor Smartypants." Jane retorted.

"I can never tell when you're being facetious." Maura said defensively, "You are so rarely serious."

"Well I'm serious right now, about getting the hell out of here ASAP." Jane said nudging Frost again.

"Got it!" Frost said excited.

"Finally!" Jane said, scooting closer. "What's it say about Todd?"

"Well hold on a second I only just got access." Frost said, typing away.

"Do I really have to be here?" Maura whispered as she glanced around nervously.

"Yes." Jane said simply.

"Jane…" Maura pouted.

But Jane was busy reading the screen, idly grabbing Maura's hand, which was poking at her shoulder. Her coffee brown eyes scanned intently over Todd's profile. There had to be something, some clue that would help them.

"He applied to the medical academy six times." Frost noted, "Aced the entrance exams; failed the psychological exam all but the last time."

"Did he get kicked out?" Jane asked curiously.

"No… dropped out…about two months into the program…" Frost said, scanning the information quickly. "Just disappeared off records…"

Suddenly Jane's grip tightened on Maura's hand. The doctor looked down, at Jane's white knuckles. "What is it?" Maura said breathlessly.

"Hoyt." Frost replied when his partner remained speechless. "He's mentioned in Todd's profile."

"He's…" Jane whispered, her grip tightening. "He's his…"

* * *

"So this man you were looking for, James Todd, you said he strangled someone?" Sheriff Bourne inquired.

"Looks that way." Korsak said with a nod, "Why do you ask?"

"Not sure…" Bourne said with an inquisitive frown. "It just…"

"What?" Korsak said, stepping closer. "You don't have another body, do you?"

"Unfortunately I do." Bourne said with a solemn nod. "Got a call this morning. Body discovered outside the local inn. Didn't think too much of it at first, things like that just tend to happen around here. But when I started asking around I noticed that Todd was on the guest roster."

"Really?" Korsak said with a curious frown. "Did you question him?"

"No; he was no where to be found when I inquired about him." Bourne said.

"Really?" Korsak a questioning raise of his eyebrow.

"You might want to have your doctor friend take a look at the body." Bourne suggested. "We really don't have much in the way of a coroner."

"Maybe we should." Korsak observed.

* * *

"What is it Jane?" Maura inquired to the white-faced Captain.

Jane's brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed, but she did not answer. Frost looked at Jane nervously out of the corner of his eye. He had expected she would be upset, but the horror and anger in her eyes he had not.

"He was his teacher." Jane said between clenched teeth.

"You mean Hoyt was employed by the Alliance?" Maura said with a frown, "How could that be, I thought he was a wanted criminal."

"_Shay Colther_ that's one of Hoyt's aliases." Jane said with a sigh.

"It an anagram." Maura stated. "Rearranged the letters and you get Charles Hoyt."

Frost nodded, but Jane remained silent. She was lost in thought. She knew Hoyt had connections with Alliance officials. There had to be some reason that he was so impossible to track down. But why would he be interested in medical students?

"He's recruiting!" Jane said in sudden indignant recognition.

"What do you mean, he's recruiting?" Maura said with a frown.

"The sick bastard has a cult following and he's recruiting members!" Jane said to herself more than anyone else.

* * *

"What was that all about, huh?" Frankie said, nodding at Sheriff Bourne as Korsak approached the where the young Rizzoli was standing impatiently and straining his ears to pick up on the conversation.

"Nothing." Korsak said quickly. "We should get back to the hospital. It's getting late and visiting hours will be over soon."

"Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?" Frankie said, narrowing his gaze at the older man.

"Because there is." Korsak said, sitting down and starting the engine. "Now just shut your trap and stop asking questions. Jane and I have business with the Sheriff that you don't need to know about. Just get over it."

"I helped you unload all that cargo!" Frankie said with an aggravated expression. "The least you could do is tell me what we were hauling!"

"And I thought Frost was obnoxious!" Korsak said with a roll of his eyes as they sped off towards the hospital. "I swear, I don't know why I even work with you people."

Frankie patted Korsak on the shoulder, laughing loudly, "I enjoy your company too, Vince."

"Don't call me Vince." Korsak said, with a grimace. "No one calls me that."

"Why not?" Frankie said, looking hurt. "Maura calls you that."

"She's different." Korsak said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"How so?" Frankie said with a curious frown.

"She's Jane's friend." Korsak said. "I don't know; I like her I guess."

"Yeah," Frankie said with a soft laugh, "how come? Not too long ago acted like you didn't trust her."

"I didn't." Korsak said, shrugging again.

"So what changed?" Frankie said with a smile.

"I don't know." Korsak observed. "I guess Jane changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Maura's good for her. You know?"

"What are you getting at?" Frankie said narrowing his eyes at the older man.

Korsak shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Never mind, okay?" he said, growing frustrated. If the boy couldn't see what was happening right before his eyes than he was even more oblivious than his sister.

* * *

"Jane…" Maura whispered softly, squeezing the brunette's hand gently. "You should really get some rest, your wounds are only just starting to recover."

"I'm fine." Jane said breathlessly. She had been staring at the opposite wall for some time, musing quietly. Her face, however, was quite animated; her brows furrowed, her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched.

"Clearly you are not." Maura said, squeezing Jane's hand again, trying to catch her gaze. "You've been rubbing your hands for the past twenty minutes."

Finally Jane looked over at the doctor sitting next to her. She looked down at her hand in Maura's. She frowned curiously at the sensation of Maura's soft fingers on the scars on her left hand. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed at first how the dull ache had faded.

Suddenly, becoming very self-conscious, she pulled her hand away. Her hands returned to their usual anxious kneading, but this time for a different reason. Normally Jane remained very aware of her hands. The scars on her palms often inexplicably ached when she was nervous or worried. Others had tried to calm her anxious tick by grasping her hands, but they only ever succeeded in making her feel even more uncomfortable. With Maura, however, she had not even been aware of how her hands had stilled and her restlessness had eased. That is, until she looked down to see Maura's thumb caressing the rough scar tissue of her palm.

"I'm sorry." Jane whispered shyly, feeling awkward for pulling away so coldly. "You're right. I should rest. Besides, I'm sure you have other things to do."

Maura smiled softly, her hazel eyes shining brightly. "It's okay. I don't mind." She said sitting back with a yawn. "Anyway, I can't do the autopsy on the other body until Sheriff Bourne has it transported over here. He said that probably wouldn't happen until early tomorrow morning."

"Maybe you should go back to your shuttle and get some rest?" Jane suggested, laying back into her bed.

"I'm fine." Maura said shaking her head with smile. "You just try to get some sleep, okay? I'll just stay a little while longer."

Maura leaned back and closed her eyes. Jane, peaking at her out of the corner of her eye, smiled and settled into her blankets. But she did not close her eyes for a long while. Instead she peered over at the doctor and quietly mused about the way her honey blond locks fell delicately over her soft skin of her cheek, and the way the sight of it made her heart race.

Carefully and very slowly, Jane crawled her fingers over the blankets to where Maura's hand still lay on the edge of the bed. Jane took a long, quiet breath before grasping Maura's hand gently. When Maura stirred she had to resist the urge to pull away again. Instead she closed her eyes and remained perfectly still, her heart pounding in her chest.

Maura's fingers interlaced with hers but she made no other movements. The doctor said nothing and made hardly a sound, but Jane could almost swear she heard the honey blond sigh softly, contentedly. The brunette smiled and nestled into her pillow, quickly drifting off to sleep.

(To Be Continued)


	12. Chapter 12 What Makes a Captain

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: Reviews make my day, so please leave even a short comment!

* * *

Chapter 12 – What Makes a Captain pt 1

"Hmm…" Maura mused with a deep frown, running her gloved fingers over the bruises at the corpse's neck and mouth.

"Is that a good 'hmm' or a bad 'hmm'?" Jane asked quietly.

Maura started at the sudden break in the relative silence. She had been alone in the morgue for several hours and was just finishing up her autopsy. For most of the morning her voice was the only sound that filled up the cold, vacant room. The doctor didn't even notice the captain enter the room.

"What are you doing here, Jane?" Maura said with concern; as the brunette attempted to lift herself from her wheelchair in order to get a better look at the body. "You should be resting!" She added, removing her gloves quickly and rushing to her friend's aid.

"I couldn't sleep." Jane said simply, trying to shake the awful feeling that the nightmares left her with. She shivered. _It was only a dream, Jane. She's fine. _She thought to herself, watching the honey blond out of the corner of her eye. _I'm going to kill that bastard before he can ever lay a hand on her._

Maura frowned down at the brunette. "You should at least stay in bed. Your sutures are never going to heal if you're constantly on your feet."

"I'm not." Jane said resigning to the wheelchair again. "See?"

"You know what I mean." Maura said giving her an agitated look.

"Did you find something?" Jane inquired, pointing to the bruising at the corpse's neck.

"I don't know." Maura said with a contemplative frown. "Even though I have forensic experience there is no way to know for sure but…"

"Out with it!" Jane prodded with a grin, happy that her ploy to change the subject had worked.

"The bruise pattern and size do seem to be similar to that of Mr. Anderson, and all other signs point to asphyxiation." Maura relented after giving Jane an incredulous look.

"So Todd killed this man too?" Jane observed more than asked.

"We don't know that Jane!" Maura said, but shrugged her shoulders. Apparently, she had learned she was fighting a losing battle with the captain.

Jane raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes. "Really?" Jane exclaimed. "We have two suspicious deaths within three days. The M.O.'s are the same, the bruising and C.O.D.'s are the same. Todd is known to have been in both locations. We have means and opportunity, Maura. That's two thirds the equation right there."

"You still don't have a motive." Maura said quietly, looking down at the elderly gentlemen's body on her examination table. She found it hard to believe that someone as nice and giving as James would be able to strangle an obviously innocent and helpless individual like Mr. Roland here, or Mr. Anderson.

"I don't know, Maura," Jane said looking somewhat exasperated, "Why does anyone kill? Greed? Anger? There are a lot of sickos out there that just kill because they can. If you're lucky that's all they're out for."

Hoyt was on Jane's mind again and Maura could tell by the way the brunette avoided her gaze. Jane grew quiet as she started to knead her palms again, looking over at Mr. Roland with a frown. In her mind, there was no question that Todd was the killer, it was just a matter of proving it. What made her uncomfortable was the nature of the killing; it had a distinct signature. One thing Jane had learned about Hoyt's apprentices was that they were encouraged to develop a signature kill, to make it their own.

For a moment Maura was quiet as well as she watched Jane closely. The captain was clearly troubled by these killings. Did she think that James was working for Hoyt? Why else would Jane pursue a criminal with no known bounty on his head, especially when they were now so stretched for cash? The doctor didn't want to believe such a nice man as James would be involved with a serial killer like Hoyt, but though it might be a leap, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. Then again, maybe Jane was just desperate to find the man that had given her those scars, physical and emotional.

"Jane I…" Maura said quietly, wishing she could find the words to comfort her friend.

"I better get back," Jane said, still avoiding Maura's eyes, "before the nurses send out a search party."

Maura laughed weakly and watched Jane roll out of the morgue in silence. She watched her leave with a curious yet solemn look on her face. How was it Jane and her could feel so close one minute and so distant the next? Maura frowned. For a moment she wished she could understand what was going on in that head of Jane's. Maybe then she would be able to tell what to do with all these emotions the brunette invoked in her.

* * *

Jane did not return to her room, however. Rather, she wheeled down the hallway slowly with no destination in particular. She was lost in thought. If her wounds didn't make it so difficult to even stand up, she would be pacing back and forth anxiously. All that had happened lately was racing through her head.

She tried to pretend it was the murders that were on her mind. But in all honesty, investing her energy in trying to solve the crimes was just a way of putting off thinking about the truly troubling issues. She knew it was silly and foolish to avoid them, but it just so easy to fall into her usual bounty hunting routine. Hunting down criminals just came so naturally to her; she didn't know why.

"What's bothering you, Detective?" Korsak said warmly, lightly placing a hand on her shoulder.

Jane started as if waking from a daydream. She shook her thoughts away and smiled up at the sergeant. "Nothing…" she said with a shrug. "I'd really just like to go home, I guess."

Korsak smiled softly, but examined her face closely. After all these years he had learned how to tell when the brunette was lying. Normally he would pry further, try to get her thinking process going, but he had a feeling this had nothing to do with 'the case.'

"Well, that's actually why I'm here." He said taking hold of the wheelchair and steering her back in the direction of her room. "Tommy and Frankie set up the shuttle with what they could rescue from the ship. It will be cramped, but it will just have to do 'til we fix Serenity up."

"What?!" Jane said, stopping the wheelchair forcefully. "There is no way I'm bunking with all of you!"

"I thought you'd be happy to bunk with me and the boys!" Korsak laughed in mock offense.

Jane rolled her eyes and looked up at him annoyed. "Please tell me you are kidding."

"Of course I am." Korsak said with a smile, "There's no way you, me, Frost, Frankie and Tommy would all fit in there, no less keep from killing each other."

"What about Ma?" Jane added with a laugh as they continued down the hall. "There's no way _any_ of us can stand five minutes in close quarters with her, no less _six weeks!"_

"She's going to stay with Maura." Korsak stated simply. "She insisted."

"Ma _insisted_?" Jane said with a frown, her mother sure was getting familiar with the doctor if she started treating her just like she did Jane and her brothers.

"No," Korsak said shaking his head, "Maura insisted. She said you and your mother are to move into her place. Angela is already moved into the small compartment." Korsak laughed admiringly, "Maura called it her _guest room_. She wants me to help you move in as soon as you are released."

"I'm glad that I was a part of this decision." Jane said, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes. "I am the captain after all."

"It was all decided yesterday while you were asleep." Korsak said, his smile audible in his voice. "Or should I say Maura decided."

"Jeeze, how long was I out yesterday?" Jane said, her tone laced with just a hint of annoyance. "Did you go and vote _her _Captain or something? That's mutiny, you know."

Korsak shrugged, "Just following doctor's orders. Maura seemed to think you would recover faster under her care, and she really didn't think it was fair to have Angela stuck living with all us guys. Besides, I think Maura has a soft spot for her."

"Yeah," Jane observed quietly, "Maura's not really close with her mother. She just soaks up all that lovey-dovey stuff Ma puts out. Plus, I think Ma finally found the daughter she always wanted."

"Jane." Korsak said nudging her reprovingly.

She knew she was being self-deprecating but it was hard not to feel like Maura was everything she wasn't. The doctor was intelligent, well educated and successful. She dressed impeccably, had manners and class to spare, and was compassionate and kind to boot. Sometimes Jane would watch Maura and her mother talking—about cooking and clothes and sometimes even men—and she would just burn with this jealous longing to be just a bit more like the honey blond. Not because she wanted to be more girly—though she honestly felt like that would make her mother happier—but because sometimes she felt like she wasn't worthy enough of Maura's time, or of her friendship.

"Sorry." Jane replied quietly and decided to change the subject. "You sure you won't mind having to bunk up with Frost and the boys. They get on your nerves enough as it is."

"Frost and I will keep 'em in line." Korsak said with a smile.

"You are _willingly_ going to do something with Frost?" Jane said with mock surprise, "Who are you and what have you done with Vince?!"

"He's not that bad." Korsak said with a shrug, trying to act casual. However, Jane could tell by the way his eyes shifted that he didn't want her reading too much into it.

"We'll just see how much you like him after bunking up with him for a while." Jane said with a laugh.

Jane had spent a lot of time with Frost one on one. They did a lot of the footwork together, sometimes even camping out a few nights while tracking down a particularly stealthy bounty. Frost was likeable and friendly but just as it was true with most people you spent hours on end with, he could start to grind on your nerves. Mostly, Jane and him would just get into little spats here and there and make up after a few hours of the silent treatment. But she wasn't so sure Korsak and him would have such an easy time getting along.

"You just have fun spending the next month living in close quarters with your mother." Korsak retorted with a laugh.

Jane rolled her eyes. "It's not like there was ever much space on Serenity." She said, sighing as they finally reached her room. "She's always been up in my business. Speaking of—"

"Where have you been?!" Angela screeched as she leapt to her feet. "The nurses have been looking for you everywhere! I was worried out of my mind!"

"Ma!" Jane interrupted her mother loudly, trying to escape the arms that were dangerously close to hugging her, "I was just down at the morgue talking to Maura. Why did you send the nurses looking for me? I'm sure they have plenty to do already."

"Apparently!" Angela said with an agitated frown, "They want to send you home already!"

"Dr. Isles seems to think Jane will be alright back at her place." Korsak suggested.

"I know… it's just … only two days ago we didn't even know if Janey was even going to survive." Angela said with her arms around Jane's head, since she had not been able to capture anything else in her attempt to hold her daughter.

"Ma!" Jane hollered. The only thing she hated even more than hugs was when her mother treated her like a little child and talked as if she weren't there. "I'm fine, okay?"

Angela stepped back and looked at her daughter with her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed. It was hard for Ma Rizzoli not to be overprotective of her eldest child. She had such a dangerous profession and always seemed to be putting her life on the line. And in the end, she might be the oldest, but she was still her first, her little baby.

"Ma?" Jane said, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Are you okay?"

Angela's eyes were teary even as she nodded. "I just worry about you, Janey."

"I'm fine, Ma, really." Jane said, feeling guilty for brushing her mother off so quickly. "Even Maura thinks so."

"I never said that." Maura stated simply, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "This hospital is just underequipped and understaffed; you would simply do better under my care."

"You think so, Maura?" Angela said with a hopeful expression.

"Did you finish the autopsy already?" Jane said curiously, hoping the conversation would veer off in another direction; she didn't like the way it was going anyway.

"Yes, Angela. I think Jane would recover much faster on her own." She said kindly to Jane's mother, then looked at Jane. "And, yes, I finished the autopsy."

"And?" Jane said, looking at her expectantly.

"And I will discuss it with you as soon as we get you ready to be discharged. The clerk is getting the paperwork together, your physician already approved you to be released under my care." Maura said gesturing for Korsak and Angela to leave the room. After Maura had shut the door behind them she handed Jane a worn leather bag. "Here, I brought some of your clothes."

"You went through my things?" Jane said in an irritated tone. Rather than being annoyed with Maura's violation of her privacy, Jane's reaction was more a part of realization that she was apparently no longer in charge of the goings on.

"Not a lot of your things survived the crash." Maura said, ignoring her question. "But Angela mended your favorite shirt for you."

"I don't have a favorite shirt." Jane said with a frown, sitting down on the bed and watching as Maura took the neatly folded clothes out of the bag and delicately placed them beside Jane.

"Excuse me." Maura said politely, "That is just what your mother called it. Besides, it's so worn and faded that I'm surprised Angela was able to rescue it at all."

The truth was most of Jane's clothes were worn from use and bleached from exposure to the dessert sun. Dust and sweat stained most of them. There were even bloodstains on her vest. She never had much money for buying fancy clothing, and she always preferred the rough and tumble look; it made her seem more intimidating. Besides, new clothes would never match her old leather boots, and there was no way she was getting rid of those.

"Take off your gown." Maura said unblinkingly.

"What?!" Jane said with a frown. "Why?"

"We have to get you dressed." Maura said, looking at her as if it were obvious.

"_We_?" Jane said blinking at her. "No way. I am perfectly capable of dressing myself, thank you."

Maura raised an eyebrow, her hands to her hips. "You can barely get in and out of that chair without help. How are you going to put your bra on?"

Jane's face reddened. She tried to pretend it was from anger, but it probably had more to do with the image of Maura's hands on her bare chest, slipping slowly around to her back. Jane tried to shake the image from her mind but her heart was racing and unconsciously she licked her lips.

"I think I'll manage fine on my own!" The brunette said rather harshly, standing up defiantly and grabbing at the pile of clothes angrily.

In her flustered state Jane ended up dropping most of her things to the floor. Not wanting Maura to help her, though Maura was already bent down to do so, Jane dived down to pick them up. Jane winced painfully and stopped mid motion.

"Jane!" Maura said reaching for the spot where Jane's hands instinctively clasped at her wound. "Be careful; you could tear your sutures!"

"I'm fine." Jane lied through gritted teeth.

"No you're not." Maura said, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Please, just let me help you, okay?"

Jane instantly regretted glancing at the honey blond. As soon as she caught sight of those hazel eyes she couldn't refuse. She cursed herself for being so easily swayed but sighed and nodded.

The brunette didn't think her heart had ever raced as fast as it did when Maura's fingers were at her back, untying the hospital gown carefully. But then the course material fell to the bed and exposed her bare skin, leaving her in nothing but her panties. Instinctively, her arms went up to cover her chest, the cold air making her shiver.

Standing silently behind her, Maura struggled to breathe evenly. Her intentions had been completely innocent; she simply wanted to help Jane get dressed. But now that she stood just inches from the exposed olive skin of Jane's back, Maura could feel her heart racing and her body temperature rising. Her eyes gazed over the rough, reddened skin of Jane's back. The burns there were just starting to heal over older, deeper scars. The doctor unconsciously licked her lips, fighting back the urge to place a kiss on the back of Jane's neck.

Jane could feel Maura's breath on her neck. The sensation sent shivers down her spine. She swallowed and let out a heavy breath, trying to focus her energy on not letting her imagination wander away with her. She shifted uncomfortably, unable to think about anything other than the heat coming from Maura behind her.

"Maur—ah..." Jane managed on a hitched breath as another shiver shook her.

"Yes?" Maura whispered breathlessly.

"Would you…" Jane struggled to speak; she had to close her eyes just to focus on anything other than turning around to face Maura. "…hand me my bra?"

"Oh!" Maura said suddenly as if waking from a daydream, "Yes."

She leaned down and scooped Jane's clothes off the floor and handed them to her. Jane did not turn around, she simply mumbled "thank you" and started to dress. Maura had to help her with her clasps because despite several attempts Jane could not get her arms to stretch the way they normally would. Maura managed to assist her friend in this task without getting too flustered, though she had to constantly remind herself that she was caring for Jane and that she needed to remain professional.

Jane slipped shakily into her blue button-up shirt mostly on her own. The bandages on her hands, however, made it difficult to do the buttons. After several minutes of trying on her own she finally turned and looked at Maura pleadingly. She gulped as the doctor reached eagerly to help her. They were silent, but Jane could swear her heart was pounding loud enough for Maura to hear, the sound growing louder and louder as she proceeded up her chest, moving at an impossibly slow pace, as if savoring every moment.

_Is she thinking it too?_ Jane wondered, watching as the hazel eyes moved up her chest to her neck, not daring to raise any further. _Is she wondering what it would be like in reverse?_

An image flashed through Jane's mind. _Maura's movements were forceful, desperate. Her lips seared against Jane's as she made quick work of removing the cumbersome garment. Jane's hands slipped into her silky, honey blond locks, pulling her flat against her body._

"Jane?" Maura said, finally looking up into those coffee brown eyes, which had grown strangely dark.

"Hm?" Jane said, meeting Maura's gaze. Was that lust in the doctor's eyes?

"We have to…" Maura said, her eyes flitting down to Jane's lips as she waged a battle with her imagination. "… finish getting…you dressed."

"Yes…" Jane said with an idle nod.

Jane was thankful that she managed to get her pants on without help. She didn't think she could stand to have Maura's hands anywhere below the belt without going completely mad. But then Maura kneeled down in front of her and helped her put on her socks and boots. The delicacy and care the honey blond used in simply helping her with her footwear made Jane's heart swell in her chest.

_What is it you're doing to me?_ Jane thought, looking down at her. _This isn't just friendship I feel for you. Am I… am I falling—?_

"There!" Maura said with a triumphant smile, standing up suddenly. "All set."

"Almost." Jane managed to say, shaking her worried thoughts away. She slipped her arms effortlessly into her old tan vest and topped her dark curls with her dusty cowboy hat. She looked up at Maura with bright eyes and a goofy smile. "Captain Rizzoli doesn't go anywhere without her trusty hat and vest."

Maura turned up her nose at the ensemble. The boots were bad enough, but she didn't understand why Jane insisted on wearing such dilapidated clothing. There had to be years' worth of dust and stains on that hat alone.

"Apparently not." Maura said with a laugh, there was something simply adorable about the way Jane looked up at her with that cocky smile the moment she put the hat on.

"Hey!" Jane said with a frown as she searched her bag, "Where's my pistol?"

"They don't allow guns in here." Maura responded.

"I'm not much of a captain without one." Jane said with a subtle pout.

"Didn't you notice?" Maura said with a smirk, "You've been mutinied. I'm the new captain now."

"Yeah?" Jane said with a laugh, "Where's your gun then?"

"I don't need one." Maura said, grinning from ear to ear, "I stole your crew right from under your feet while you were asleep. And it's not the gun that makes the captain, it's the crew."

"I thought it was the ship that made the captain." Frost interrupted with a wide smile on his face. "As far as I know, you don't exactly have that either."

Jane smacked his shoulder as if offended, but she knew he was just playing. "Serenity might be broken but she ain't dead." Jane said firmly. "I'll fix her up soon enough."

"You mean she _is not_ dead." Maura corrected.

Jane smirked up at her. "I thought you said ships don't have a gender, huh?"

"They don't." Maura said, blushing. "Serenity does."

Jane smiled at Maura appreciatively. "Oh really?"

"Jane." Frost said, looking apologetic for interrupting but continuing anyway. "I came down here 'cause they caught Todd."

"Damn!" Jane said angrily. "I wanted to catch that bastard."

"Jane, language." Maura said frowning at her reprovingly.

Jane ignored her. "Where did they find him?"

"He was trying to board an Alliance vessel at the skyplex." Frost explained. "Apparently he got detained by Alliance officials after a random search."

"Damn it!" Jane said, exasperated. "The Alliance has him? When did this happen?"

"He apparently didn't get very far after fleeing the inn. They detained him yesterday. Sheriff Bourne only got wind of it this morning." Frost said with a disappointed sigh. "He tried to petition them to release him into his custody for questioning, but they refused. They claimed Todd was under government protection."

"Protection?!" Jane said indignantly. "What for? The only thing he needs protection from is my gun at his temple!"

"I'm not sure." Frost said, growing restless, avoiding Jane's eyes. "All I know is the message Bourne received … it was signed _Shay Colther_."

(To Be Continued)


	13. Chapter 13 Family Secrets

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

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A/N: I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY sorry this took so long to update. Writers block overtook me for SO LONG. Anyway, I hope you like it. Just a note, I changed the title for this chapter (and the previous one) so it is not technically "part two" because the chapter didn't end up going where I originally thought it would. But it still continues where we left off.

PLEASE REVIEW. I LOVE REVIEWS!

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Chapter 13 – Family Secrets

"Have you gone completely mad?!" Korsak hollered, throwing his arms up in the air in exasperation.

"I'm telling you, it can work!" Jane insisted, as Korsak shook his head in disbelief. "Besides, I _have_ to find out what connection he has to Hoyt! We've never had a lead this good. I can't just pass it up!"

"But break into an Alliance prison?!" Korsak said, rounding on the brunette. He had his arms at her shoulders, as if to shake some sense into her, but he thought better of it at the last moment.

"Only a holding cell on a cruiser." Jane reasoned, "From what I can tell they aren't actually going to send him to prison."

"Same difference Jane!" Korsak said, messaging his temples in frustration. "You still want to board an Alliance vessel, break into a prison cell and interrogate a violent criminal! All for the slim chance that he might have anything useful to say, no less that he won't feed you a crock of shit!"

"It's worth a shot, Korsak!" Jane said with exasperation. She was growing tired of arguing with him, not only mentally but also physically. It had only been three days since she had been released from the hospital and her wounds had still not completely healed. Even simple walking caused a sharp ache to spread throughout her abdomen.

"Jane, you're in no condition anyway!" Korsak said, pointing at how her hands had instinctively gone to her injury.

Jane straightened up and tried not to think about the pain. "We don't have much time, Korsak, that Alliance cruiser leaves in the morning! If we don't act now, we'll never get the chance to question Todd!"

"What good would that information do you if the Alliance captures you?" Korsak retorted with exasperation.

"They won't!" Jane insisted. "Frost and I have it all figured out."

"How the hell do you plan on doing this heist anyway?" Korsak said, a sigh indicating his slipping resolve. "You know she's never going to go for this. Not again."

"Well I'll just have to convince her then, aren't I?" Jane said with a grin.

* * *

"Absolutely not!" the doctor nearly screamed.

"Come on, Maur! It's our only chance to find out what he knows!" Jane insisted.

Maura was pacing across the length of her personal compartment, looking anxious, enraged and insulted all at once. Jane was sitting up in Maura's bed watching her friend hopefully. She had anticipated the doctor's resistance, but she had not expected even the thought of it to make her so flustered. The honey blond had started to breathe quickly, her face growing red.

"Maura!" Jane said leaping to her feet and grasping her friend by the shoulders. "Please! Calm down."

"I can't do it, Jane." Maura said with an exasperated look on her face. "It's too dangerous… and I … I can't deceive them like that, even if they are the Alliance."

"Okay, okay…" Jane said in a soft voice, trying to calm her. "It's alright, Maur. We'll just figure out how to get aboard without you."

Jane sat back down on the bed and ran her fingers through her unruly hair. This plan rested almost entirely on Maura's knowledge of the Alliance medical system. How would they ever sneak aboard the ship now?

"Jane," Maura said, her tone soft yet curious, "Why is it so important that you talk to Jame—Mr. Todd?"

"I told you, Maura, he's working with Hoyt!" Jane said irritably, falling back onto the bed with a sigh.

"I know…" Maura said sitting beside the brunette and watching her carefully as she danced around a dangerous question, "…but… why does it mean so much to you that you find Hoyt?"

Jane turned and looked at the doctor, a frown on her face. Maura's eyes were gazing worriedly at Jane's kneading hands. The brunette suddenly became very aware of the old ache from her scars. She shifted uncomfortably. Jane had never revealed much about what Hoyt had done to her, mostly because thinking about it was so painful for her, and Maura never really prodded too much. But Jane could tell that this distance between them was hurting her friend too.

"I don't know…" Jane said quietly, with a small shrug. She stared resolutely up at the ceiling, very much aware of Maura's curious gaze searching the features of her face. A frown grew upon her face as she actually started to think about Maura's question.

Jane didn't really understand how the pursuit of Hoyt had consumed her life. Hunting him down had been her ultimate goal for such a long time that she had never really stopped to think about why she did it—that is aside from ending the troublesome nightmares. Sure, he had left her with both physical and emotional scars, and Jane was not about to let those crimes go unpunished, but there was more to it than that.

"I let him go." Jane said exhaling heavily, peeking at Maura out of the corner of her eye. She knew Maura wouldn't understand, but she needed time to process the spontaneous confession—something she was only beginning to understand as she spoke.

Maura opened her mouth as if to ask "What do you mean?" but she held back. The doctor could tell by the way her friend's eyes were searching the ceiling that she was looking for the words. The honey blond wondered what she could do to encourage her. She knew that it was a rare occasion for Jane to open up and she just hoped that she wouldn't be frightened back into her shell.

Scooting down, Maura adjusted herself so she was lying next to Jane, her head just inches from her shoulder. She smiled over at the brunette and waited patiently.

"I had him, Maur." Jane finally continued, a confused and angry frown growing on her face. "And I let him go."

"Jane," Maura encouraged, scooting closer, wishing Jane would just explain, "I'm sure you did what you had to."

"No!" Jane said, turning to Maura with a fierce look on her face, her eyes watery. "You don't understand, Maura! I caught him! Just a year after he—after he kidnapped me, after Korsak rescued me. I tracked that bastard down. I had a knife to his neck and I…"

"Jane…" Maura said in a mournful whisper, placing her hand softly on Jane's shoulder.

The brunette was staring up at the ceiling again, perfectly silent. They lay like that for a while, a chilling silence hanging in the air. The only sound was of Maura's thumb softly rubbing over the rough material of Jane's shirt at her shoulder.

"Lavender and fear." Jane whispered hoarsely.

"Hm?" Maura said, looking up at her curiously.

"That's what he said to me." Jane said, crossing her arm over her chest to grasp Maura's hand. A shiver overtook her and a tear fell from her eye. "He said I smelled like lavender and fear. He grinned at me… the same way he did when he had me pinned to the—he grinned!"

"It's not your fault, Jane." Maura said softly. "It's perfectly normal for a victim to fearful of a psychopath like that."

"That's not it!" Jane said angrily, releasing Maura's hand and looking her in the eye for the first time since they had started talking about Hoyt. "I wasn't scared, Maura! I was angry—_enraged_—I wanted to kill him. I wanted to choke the life out of him and destroy that stupid fucking grin on his face!

"But he started cackling, Maura, cackling! I had the knife to his throat and my hand squeezing the life out of him and he was happy as can be. You know why, Maura? Because he had gotten exactly what he wanted. He had turned me into him!"

"Jane you are nothing like Hoyt." Maura said with a resolute but confused frown.

"I was in that moment." Jane said, looking back up at the ceiling. "In that moment I wanted to cause him all the agonizing pain and horror that he caused me."

"But you didn't." Maura said simply, gently.

"No but I should have." Jane said frowning angrily.

"Why?" Maura said, looking concerned.

"Because if I had, all those people he's killed since then—all the women he's tortured, families he's torn apart—they would still be alive." Jane said with a heavy sigh.

"Jane, you can't blame yourself for the horrible things that monster has done." Maura said in an almost pleading tone.

"I know…" she said after a quiet moment. Jane smiled weakly at the honey blond, wondering how she could look at her with such honest care and concern after a confession like that one.

Maura smiled and let out a sigh as she placed her head on Jane's shoulder. She wished she knew how to convince the brunette that she was not to blame for the horrible crimes that Hoyt committed, nor for her natural inclinations to seek vengeance upon him, nor for the inability to finally act on those feelings. Anger and fear were natural human responses after all.

* * *

"Just remember the plan, Frost, as soon as you are alone, you _have_ to revive me. You only have half an hour." Jane said, looking her partner firmly in the eye.

"Jane," Frost said, shifting nervously, his eyes darting anxiously around the morgue, "I'm not so sure about this. You know how I am around dead bodies."

"I won't be dead, Frost, I'll really only be unconscious." Jane said with a confident smirk. In reality she was as nervous as Frost, but one of them had to keep their shit together if this crazy plan was to work. "All you have to do is get me onto that skyplex and aboard that cruiser. They'll direct you to the morgue. As soon as you can, revive me."

"But what if I can't revive you in time?" Frost said anxiously. They had gone over all of this before, but for some reason his confidence was failing. This was by far Jane's craziest idea so far and he didn't really like the idea of being stuck on an Alliance Cruiser with false identification and no explanation of his business there. Alliance officials weren't usually very nice to former Independent soldiers.

Jane put a hand at her partner's shoulders and looked him in square in the eyes. It was unlike Frost to be so nervous in the face of a heist like this. For a brief moment she wondered if Korsak and Maura had been right, it wasn't worth the risk. Trying to shake her doubts away, she smiled encouragingly at her partner.

"You've got this Frost." Jane said resolutely. "I believe in you. Just remember you have half an hour, alright?"

"Right." Frost said with a confident nod, trying to smile.

"You ready?" Jane said, taking a deep breath.

"No." Frost said, looking queasy as Jane handed him the syringe.

"You're going to have to inject the shot when you revive me, Frost, so you might as well get used to the needle now." Jane said, growing pale with anxiousness. She trusted her partner with her life, but when it came to things like needles and blood, Frost was a little bit more than uncomfortable. This plan would have been way simpler with Maura transporting her unconscious body, but she had promised the doctor she would find another way.

"You ready?" Frost said, trying to keep his hands steady as he uncapped the needle.

"Yeah." Jane said, swallowing the lie with a loud gulp.

"Okay." Frost said with an unsteady breath.

"See you on the other side." Jane said with a nervous laugh.

She took a deep breath, laying back and closing her eyes. There was a sharp prick in her arm followed by a cold sensation flowing up her arm and straight to her chest. Her head felt hazy and her whole body grew heavy. Her breathing slowed and she grew strangely conscious of her heartbeat in her chest, slowing like a dying engine. If the drug had not already slowed every bodily function, including her clouded thoughts, she might have been afraid she really was dying. Instead her mind drifted to the only place it felt safe.

"Maura…" Jane let out one last breath before everything went black.

* * *

"_We should really go inside." Maura said in Jane's ear, placing a hand on her arm. "They only just released you from the hospital. You should really be resting."_

"_I am resting, Maur." Jane said, looking up at the expanse of stars filling the night sky. "What can be more relaxing than lying under the starlight with your best friend."_

"_I—I'm your…?" Maura said breathlessly._

"_Of course you are." Jane said turning to look at Maura's gleaming eyes. There was something magnificent about the way the stars twinkled in those hazel orbs, it made it difficult for Jane to breathe as she stared into them. The brunette was glad the darkness concealed her blushing face as her eyes darted down to Maura's full lips and back up to the moonlit features of her face._

You are so much more than that._ Jane thought as the starlight revealed Maura's bright smile._

"_I've never…" Maura whispered, turning her head to peak nervously at Jane._

"_You've never had a best friend before?" Jane said with a frown. _

_Maura looked back up to the night sky contemplatively. After a moment she conceded, "No."_

_Jane knew Maura was socially awkward and definitely the kind of person you had to get used to, but she honestly didn't understand how no one had seen how wonderful of a friend she was. When she thought about it, Maura had never really talked about any serious lovers either. How could it be that no one had won a heart like Maura's?_

"_Maura, have you ever been in love?" Jane blurted out suddenly, regretting it immediately. She was very much aware of how out of place her question might seem without following her train of thought. Jane blushed profusely and tried to recover, "I mean… you just—you never talk about anyone in your life and I… I was just wondering…"_

"_Yeah." Maura said quietly, rescuing Jane from her rambling. "I fell in love once."_

"_It wasn't that Garrett fellow was it?" Jane asked curiously, recalling the only name she could recall from the guys Maura had mentioned._

"_No…" Maura said with a heavy breath. "I mean, I thought I was in love with him when I was with him. But I don't really think I was."_

_Jane turned on her side to face her friend, her curiosity growing. She started growing anxious and maybe even jealous as Maura stared up at the sky dreamily._

"_And?" Jane prodded playfully, though for some reason she was fearful of the answer._

_Maura looked over at Jane briefly, examining the features of her face in the moonlight. She smiled nervously as she recalled the way Jane made her smile, the way she made her heart race just being close to her, the way that she felt so at home in her arms. She had felt those feelings before. She knew what they meant._

"_His name was Ian." Maura said, looking back up at the stars. _

_Jane's heart sank. She had been suspecting an answer like this, but that hadn't stopped her from hoping, praying Maura might reflect the feelings she had been struggling to keep buried deep down. Jane had never been in love, never felt anything more than infatuation and physical attraction to her lovers. Men passed through her life like the stars in the heavens above, gleaming brightly for a while and then fading into the sunlight of the next day. There was always some job, some bounty on the next horizon. She never had time to settle down, to fall in love._

_But here was Maura. Aside from her partners and her family she had been the only person to stay in her life longer than a few days. Before Maura came along she thought about nothing but her bounties and finding Hoyt. Now Jane often found herself thinking about the honey blond, the little things she could do to make her smile, or wondering how her family had never really felt complete until Maura was a part of it._

"_What happened to Ian?" Jane finally asked, watching as Maura's face grew sorrowful and troubled._

"_He had to leave." Maura said solemnly, turning away from Jane. She sniffled, trying to hide her tears._

"_Maura!" Jane said sitting up worriedly. "Don't cry."_

"_There's a reason I don't talk about him." Maura said, trying to wipe her tears away. The ache in her heart was almost unbearable. She could not endure this pain again, but what was she to do? Jane already meant so much to her, how could she just turn that off?_

"_Shh…" Jane said placing a hand on Maura's trembling shoulder. "You don't have to talk about him if you don't want—"_

_Jane was interrupted by Maura sitting up and throwing her arms around Jane's neck. She buried her face into Jane's shoulder. Jane wrapped her arms tightly around Maura and closed her eyes, unsure of what to say. Maura held onto her tightly, taking comfort in the warmth of Jane's embrace._

"_It's okay…" Jane whispered, rubbing Maura's back. _

"_I'm sorry…" Maura said, pulling away and wiping the tears at her face._

"_You don't have to be sorry." Jane said, her eyes revealing the heartbreak at seeing her friend so upset. _

_They smiled at each other for a moment. After a deep breath Maura wiped away the rest of her tears and sat up straight. Jane stood up silently and started to collect her things. She made to pick up one of the blankets to fold it, but Maura stood and took it from her._

"_Jane?" Maura asked cautiously as she shook the dust from the blanket and began to neatly fold it. "Have _you_ ever been in love?"_

_Jane froze and looked up at Maura, her eyes wide. Her heart started to beat wildly in her chest. She gulped and looked down at the ground, unable to meet Maura's curious gaze._

"_I mean…" Maura said nervously, wondering why Jane had suddenly grown so shy, "I guess I was just wondering why you brought it up."_

"_I—I don't… I don't know." Jane said, taking the folded blankets from Maura but avoiding her eyes. "I guess I was just curious… you know. Besides, best friends talk about that kind of stuff… right?"_

"_Right." Maura nodded as they turned to head back to her shuttle for the night._

"_Yes." Jane agreed, feeling rather uncomfortable with how awkward things had become between them._

"_So?" Maura said, nudging Jane with her elbow, trying to sound playful._

"_So, what?" Jane said, frowning at her._

"_Have you ever been in love?" Maura asked, smiling uneasily._

"_No." Jane said way too quickly._

"_Really?" Maura said with a curious furrow of her brow._

"_I don't think so." Jane said with a shrug._

"_Why not?" Maura inquired with a smile._

"_I don't know." Jane said shrugging again. "I guess I just haven't been looking for love."_

"_Sometimes love finds you." Maura said, elbowing her friend playfully. "Sometimes it turns up where you least expect it."_

_Jane smiled; Maura was being uncharacteristically philosophical. "Now what would give you that idea?" _

"_It's something your mother told me," Maura said as they finally arrived at the shuttle, "when I was watching over you at the hospital."_

"_You really stayed by my side that whole time?" Jane said, still surprised that Maura had not found anything better to do than watch over her unconscious body._

"_Of course, you're my best friend!" Maura said with a brimming smile, enjoying the phrase completely._

"_Of course!" Jane said with a mocking tone, yet her eyes revealed a deeper appreciation of Maura's sentiment. "What are best friends for, right?"_

* * *

He had gotten them this far. Getting onto the Alliance transport shuttle had been easy enough. The officials were already transporting two other bodies into Alliance custody. They were to meet up with an Alliance cruiser up on the skyplex, which was on it's way out of this system and towards the central planets early that morning. All Frost had left to do was get an unconscious Captain Rizzoli on board and into the morgue without creating suspicion.

"Another one, huh?" the uniformed official said sounding rather disinterested. "Where's it headed?"

"_She's_ headed to Ariel to be buried with her family there." Frost said, trying not to lose his cool. He knew Jane wasn't really dead, but they could at least show her a little respect. That might be a fraudulent case file in the official's hand, but he could have a little common curtsey.

"Ariel, huh?" the redheaded official said with a raise of his eyebrow, examining the electronic file with suspicion. "Never heard of the Davidson's."

"Small family, one of the original settlers, terraform specialists." Frost said, trying not to sound as uneasy as he felt.

"They go that far back, huh?" the official said, scanning the file curiously. "My mom's side of the family is from Ariel. I wonder why I never heard of them."

"You know scientists," Frost said with a nervous laugh, "don't get out much."

"Yeah." The official said with a laugh and a shrug. "Alright then, we'll take her from here."

"No!" Frost said, grasping at the stretcher as a second, dark haired official stepped forward to take it away. Frost immediately regretted his outburst. "What I mean is…" he said, nervously looking between the two of them. "She was just my friend and all and I just… I want to say goodbye first."

"Alright," the ginger officer said, frowning at him suspiciously, "but I can't let you on board."

"But I have medical clearance." Frost said, showing his medical I.D. card.

"Sorry, new restrictions." The officer said with an indifferent shrug. "The only medical staff allowed on board are physicians and those with specified clearance."

"You don't understand," Frost said, trying not to panic, "I have to ensure that she—that her body is safely transported to Ariel."

"Look," the redhead said looking not all too sincere, "I understand you want to ensure your friend gets there, but I can't let you on board. I have my orders."

The brunette official stepped forward again, taking the stretcher and pulling it away from a reluctant Frost. "But…" the dark skinned man protested, "I have to…"

"I can't let you on board." The redhead insisted again, holding him back.

"No!" Frost said, shoving the officer off of him. He could not let Jane go on board that ship alone. There was no way she could recover from the drug-induced sleep without the antidote.

The officer pulled his weapon immediately and pointed it directly at Frost. "Hold it right there!" The ginger said fiercely, "That's assaulting an officer."

"What?!" Frost said angrily, "Assaulting a—"

A small, yet intimidatingly confident looking woman stepped in front of him, interrupting his indignation. "Excuse me, officer?" she said in a calming tone. "Perhaps I can clarify this misunderstanding."

"Maura—" Frost said, his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"That's Doctor Isles to you, young man!" Maura said, turning on him angrily.

She turned to the redheaded official with a warm smile and an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry for my… assistant here."

Maura's mind started to race as she tried to come up with something to say. She really wished she had thought this through before she just barged in and started making excuses for Frost, but when she had seen what looked like his inevitable arrest, she had stepped forward without even thinking.

"Your… your assistant?" the official said, frowning at her suspiciously. "And who exactly are you?"

"Doctor Maura Isles." Maura said confidently. That, at least, wasn't anything like a lie. There was no way any of them were going to get aboard without official Alliance medical clearance, and Maura was the only one who had it. She took her I.D. card from her lab coat and handed it to the young official.

The officer inspected the card thoroughly before scanning it. Her official file was brought up onto his tablet. He scanned the file for some time before eventually nodding and handing back the I.D. card.

"Okay," he said pointing to the open bay doors that led to the Alliance cruiser's medical facilities, "you may come aboard. But your assistant here has to stay aboard the skyplex, he does not have clearance."

"I would beg to differ." Maura said a stern expression on her face.

"Excuse me?" the officer said, sounding almost insulted.

"Barry, here, is my assistant." Maura said, looking at the official with far more confidence than she actually felt. "I will need him to come with me."

"What for?" the official said with a skeptical frown.

"To assist me, of course." Maura said, blinking at him as if it were obvious. "I promised this woman's family that I would get her—her body—home safely. I need Barry here in order to do that."

"I don't know…" the redhead said reluctantly.

"Oh, John, just let them go." The brunette officer said irritably. "We're starting to get a line up and our shift is almost over anyway."

"Fine, fine." The other officer said, waving them through. "Just get going then."

Frost stepped forward, taking the stretcher from the dark-haired official rather irritably and pushed through the double doors into the medical facility. Maura followed closely on his heels, looking nervous.

"Hurry, we don't have much time!" Maura whispered eagerly at Frost's side.

"I know, I know!" Frost said, looking around the hallway nervously.

"Come on, it's this way." Maura said, rushing off down the corridor to the left.

"What's that way?" Frost said, scratching his head and trying to read the signs that pointed this way and that. _Why does everything have to be in standard English?_ He thought to himself angrily. Only the Alliance would have a medical facility with no dialect translations.

"The morgue." Maura said in a hushed voice. "We need to get there quickly before Jane goes into cardiac arrest."

"What do you mean cardiac arrest?!" Frost said in an equally hushed and worried voice. "I thought the drug doesn't actually kill her?!"

"Frost, I'm sure Jane told you, you _have_ to give her the antidote within 30 minutes!" Maura said, squinting at the signs and leading them hurriedly down the corridors. "Otherwise her heartbeat slows to the point that it stops beating all together."

"Well she told me I _had_ to give it to her within half an hour but…" Frost said, his eyes wide.

"But not why?!" Maura said looking at him with disbelief as he pushed the stretcher into the elevator with her.

"I'm sure she had her reasons." Frost said, looking down at the capsule where his partner literally lay dying.

The elevator doors closed and Maura peered down at her watch nervously. "We're running out of time. We have to wake her now." Maura said, opening the capsule.

Maura peered down at Jane's unconscious figure. Aside from being rather pale, the captain almost looked peaceful, as if in a deep sleep. She picked up Jane's wrist, trying to feel a pulse. Of course, in order to trick the monitors in the capsule, Jane's pulse had to be so faint, that not even Maura's desperate concentration could find it.

"Oh, Jane, you fool." Maura said, leaning down to check Jane's eyes. Of course her pupils reacted to the light of the elevator. Her brain was still very much alive, even if her body wouldn't be for much longer. "Barry, hand me the syringe."

"Is she still alive?" Frost said worriedly, handing the doctor the syringe from his medical pack.

"Barely." Maura said, inserting the needle into Jane's arm.

Frost turned away, covering his face, looking as if he might be sick. The doctor ignored him.

"Wake up, Jane. Please." Maura said, her fingers at the pulse point at Jane's neck. She waited anxiously, practically praying for a miracle. "Damn it, Jane." The doctor said growing restless and irritated. "I told you not to do this!"

Suddenly, Jane's eyes burst open and she gasped as her lungs sucked up a giant gulp of air. Her body lunged forward, nearly toppling Maura over into Frost.

"Jane!" Maura said, recovering her balance and throwing her arms around the brunette. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm…" Jane struggled to talk, her breathing still erratic. "Yeah… I think so… Wait… Maura?"

Maura stepped back and looked at her friend. The doctor felt simultaneously relieved and annoyed. She had told Jane that this plan was too dangerous, especially without a doctor there to revive her. What if the antidote had not worked? What if Frost had not been able to get it to her in time?

"What are you doing here?" Jane said with a frown.

"What am _I _doing here?" Maura said, insulted. "What are _you_ doing here? I told you this wasn't going to work! You told me you'd find another way!"

"I did!" Jane said, pointing at Frost. "You didn't have to lie for me, he did!"

"You think I wouldn't do this for you because I don't want to lie?!" Maura said feeling anger swell up in her gut. After all they had been together Jane thought that this was simply about her aversion to lying!

"That's what you said, Maura, you didn't want to lie to the Alliance!" Jane said, her voice growing loud and angry. She didn't even know why Maura was so upset with her, but this really wasn't the time or place.

"I didn't want to do this because it put you—it put all of us in too much danger!" Maura said.

"Guys!" Frost said loudly, leaping between the two of them and pulling them apart. "We don't have time for this! We've got to get to Todd and get the hell out of here in less than an hour. We'll worry about your little lovers' quarrel later!"

"Lovers?" Jane and Maura said simultaneously, blinking at him in shock.

"Come on!" Frost said, grasping at Jane's arm and pulling her out of the elevator. Jane glanced back at Maura, who looked as pale as a sheet and was as stiff as a board. Just as the elevator doors began to close, however, Jane managed to grasp at Maura's lab coat and drag her along with them. The doctor followed in stunned silence while Jane stared angrily at the back of Frost's head.

_Lovers' quarrel!_ Jane thought to herself. _How ridiculous! _

* * *

"Nice place you got here." Jane said with a smirk as she looked around the small holding cell. Actually, it looked a lot more like one of Serenity's passenger dorms than a holding area on an Alliance cruiser. There was an actual bed, not just a fold out place for sleeping. There was also a table and a sink, even a little kitchenette and a lounging chair in each far corner.

"How did you get in here?!" James Todd said, spinning around and eyeing the three of them curiously, as if sizing up their intentions.

"We came to talk, James." Maura said in a reassuring voice, stepping in front of Jane, who was eyeing him fiercely. "We want to talk about what happened."

"Maura!" James said, approaching the honey blond with a worried look on his face. "That little boy, Timmy, is he okay?"

"What do you care?" Jane seethed, putting her arm protectively in front of Maura.

"What do you mean by that?" James said, glancing hopefully at Maura, as if expecting her to be sympathetic somehow.

"You killed his grandfather with your bare hands. Why would you care if Timmy is okay?" Jane said, watching Todd carefully. Either this man was delusional, or a very, very good liar.

"I would never do that!" James said, keeping his eyes on Maura, his expression practically pleading for her to believe her. "Maura, you know me. You know I could never hurt someone like that!"

"Jane…" Maura whispered, putting her hand on the brunette's arm.

"No, Maura." Jane said, squinting at Todd thoughtfully. "He's trying to gain your sympathy. You can't trust him, Maura. He's trying to manipulate us the same way he manipulated his way out of being arrested."

"I wasn't arrested because I didn't do anything." Todd insisted. "This is all jut a huge misunderstanding."

"Was Mr. Roland a misunderstanding, too?" Jane said between her clenched teeth. It was bad enough that Todd was getting away with these brutal murders, what was worse was that he was using Maura's compassion and kindness to blind her to the truth.

"I had nothing to do with that, either." James said, his eyes still on a conflicted looking Maura. "Trust me."

"So it's just a coincidence that you were put under protection by order of Shay Colther?" Jane said, watching Todd's reaction carefully.

"I…" Todd said, a momentary look of shock gleaming in his eyes. "I don't know who that is."

"Like hell you don't." Jane said, smirking knowingly. In that brief moment James Todd had given her all the information she needed to know. Not only did he know who Shay Colther was, he also had no idea that he had been the one to order that he not be placed under arrest. Hoyt was obviously using this as an opportunity to send Jane a message. All she had to do was figure out what that message was.

"So, tell me, Todd, have you ever even met Charles Hoyt, or are you just another one of his little fan club members like all the rest?" Jane said, stepping forward confidently.

She saw Todd's jaw clench tightly, but he said nothing. They both knew she was trying to incite information out of him. They stared at each other fiercely. Jane's expression did not waver until a smile curled from Todd's lips. She recognized that smile, that gleam of evil rage in his eyes. Instead of instilling in her a dreadful fear, the realization gave her the confidence to close the distance between them, gripping him tightly around the neck.

"Daddy's not here to protect you now!" Jane said, squeezing the air from Todd's throat and staring into those icy, unfeeling eyes, her teeth bared and the veins popping at her temples.

"Jane!" Maura yelled, grasping at Jane's arm desperately. "No!"

The brunette had no time to process her friend's plea, for a loud thud behind them made her loosen her grip and turn around. There on the floor lay an unconscious Frost, above him an older, balding man, a gun pointed directly at Jane.

"You!" Maura said in a fearful whisper, her face turning pale.

"Now hold it right there." The man said, pointing the gun between the three of them.

From his clothes, Jane had no idea who this man could be. He was not wearing an Alliance uniform, but he wasn't in common clothes either. He was dressed nicely with an Alliance I.D. badge pinned to his jacket. If it weren't for the look of pure horror on Maura's face she would have had no idea who this man was.

"Paddy Doyle." Jane said, releasing Todd and raising her hands into the air. Instinctively, she stepped protectively in front of Maura.

"I don't believe we've met… officially, Jane Rizzoli." Doyle said with a strangely warm smile.

"I don't believe we've met at all." Jane said, frowning at him suspiciously.

"No, we haven't met face to face, but I've been watching you for a while now." Doyle said, letting his gun slowly fall to his side.

"What interest do you have in me?" Jane said, holding Maura firmly behind her. As far as Jane was concerned, Doyle wasn't going to get anywhere near Maura.

"You know as well as anyone that my interests lie with Maura here." Doyle said, nodding towards the honey blond. "I just like to do my research, that's all."

"Research for what?" Jane said, eyeing Doyle suspiciously. Jane had done her research as well. Doyle was not a man to be messed with, and when someone ended up on his hit list they had a tendency to disappear. No, Doyle had other motives than killing Maura. There was no way that the doctor would have even survived the first attempt on her life had it been Doyle who wanted her dead, no less would she still be alive after being on this side of his gun.

"I think you have some idea, Jane." Doyle said, smiling as he recognized the pieces falling together in Jane's mind by the expression on her face.

"Why are you protecting her?" Jane said, not releasing her grip of Maura behind her.

"What?" Maura said with a frown, "But you…"

Suddenly there came a grunt from behind Doyle. They all glanced quickly down at a groaning Frost, who was just recovering from the blow Paddy Doyle had delivered to the back of his head.

Todd, who—recovering from the chokehold Jane had on him—had been watching the little scene in silence, took advantage of the distraction and leapt forward towards Maura. Jane, seeing Todd out of the corner of her eye, turned to guard her friend. But the captain acted a little too late, and Todd had Maura by the wrist before Jane could stop him. A second later he had a knife to Maura's neck.

"Stand back or she—" Todd said, but was interrupted by the sound of a single gunshot.

Jane's heart stopped as she saw blood splattered across Maura's face. "No!" Jane screamed leaping forward. Maura's eyes were wide, her face pale as she staggered forward. James Todd's limp body fell to the floor.

"Maura!" Jane said as the honey blond fell forward into her arms.

Jane looked down at the body on the floor, a single bullet wound penetrating Todd's forehead, blood splattered across his face. "Oh my god, Maura!" Jane said, stepping back to look the honey blond in the eyes. Her hands went to Maura's cheeks, wiping away what she had been sure a moment ago was her blood.

"I'm…okay…" Maura said, looking into Jane's russet eyes, hoping to steady herself. The doctor blinked, and looked over at Doyle enraged, feeling as if she was going to be sick. "What did you…why did you do that?"

"He would have hurt you, Maura." Doyle said simply. "I couldn't let him do that."

"But why? Why did you just shoot him like that?" Maura said, confused and angry tears threatening to slip from her eyes.

"I promised to protect you, Maura." Doyle said with a sad smile. "I will do whatever it takes."

"But why?" Maura said with a frown.

"Because I promised your mother—your birth mother." Doyle said, handing Maura a photograph.

"My birth mother…?" Maura said, taking the worn photograph and looking down in awe at a picture of a young woman with green eyes and honey blond hair just like Maura's. The young woman was holding a baby, maybe fourteen months old. Their smiles were identical; their eyes mirror images.

"But… how… you…?" Maura was speechless.

"There's no time to explain." Doyle said eagerly. "You have to get off this ship before it takes off."

"Hold up!" Jane said angrily. "You can't just barge in here, point a gun at us and expect us to believe whatever you say!"

"I don't expect you to." Doyle said, peering out into the corridor. "But if you don't get off this ship soon, the Alliance will catch you and put you both in prison!"

"But—" Jane protested, but Doyle was already pushing them out into the hallway.

"Go!" Doyle yelled at them, pushing a disgruntled looking Frost after them. "Go!"

To Be Continued


	14. Chapter 14 An Unexpected Gesture

My Serenity

Summary: Captain Jane Rizzoli is an infamous name in the "Verse," but the rogue bounty hunter may have met her match in the clever and mysterious Doctor Maura Isles.

Disclaimer: The characters and most of the plot elements used in this story are property of Janet Tamaro and TNT. The setting of this story, the "Verse," (_Firefly_) and some plot elements are property of Joss Whedon and 20th Century Fox. The following is a piece of fiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: **Rated M** for some violence, language, and sexual situations. This fic contains (eventual) **femmeslash** and sexual situations between two female characters. Do not continue if this is not to your liking.

* * *

A/N: I am SO SO SO SORRY that it took me so long to update. I was REALLY struggling with ideas for this chapter. I have more of an outline written out now, so it should come to be quicker than before. But, please, still be patient!

This chapter is probably awful, but I HAD to finish it. Reviews make my day, so please leave me some encouragement.

* * *

Chapter 14 – An Unexpected Gesture

"Maur, you okay?" Jane said, placing a hand on Maura's shoulder as she gingerly lowered herself down to sit next to her friend.

"Hm?" the doctor murmured in response, looking at Jane as if in a daze. "Oh, yeah I'm fine."

Maura held in her hand the photograph Paddy Doyle had given her early that day. She had been sitting there outside her shuttle staring down at the picture in silent contemplation for some time now. She had not even noticed Jane watching her with concern. Only Jane's gentle touch had awoken her from her quiet reverie.

"She looks a lot like you." Jane said, nodding to the picture, which had grabbed Maura's attention again.

"Just because Patrick Doyle says that he knows my birth mother doesn't mean that he does, or that this is her." Maura said with a sigh, looking up into the darkening sky. Twilight was settling over the desert and the stars were starting to peek out from the clouds. The honey blond took a deep breath and closed her eyes, resting her head on Jane's shoulder. Jane was quiet but wrapped an arm around Maura's waist.

"Did you know that there is a dissociative phenomenon that causes one's experiences to feel unreal and dreamlike?" Maura said, turning to look at Jane with a tired smile. "It's called derealization or depersonalization. It's believed that at least three out of four people have experienced it at some time in their lives."

Jane smiled and shook her head, "No, but of course you would."

Maura turned to gaze at the last rays of sunlight disappearing on the horizon. "Everything that happened today, with Todd and Doyle, it all seems like a dream somehow."

"More like a nightmare." Jane said with a shiver as the image of Todd grabbing Maura flashed into her mind. Jane tried to shake the uneasy feeling away as she recalled the horror of seeing that blood splattered across Maura's pale face.

The two were silent for a while, looking up at the stars. Maura was lost in thought, all the day's events running through her mind. Jane was busy watching her friend out of the corner of her eye, wondering if she had said something wrong. Then Maura shivered.

"Are you cold?" Jane said, shrugging her jacket off and draping over Maura's shoulders. "Maybe we should head in."

"No." Maura said quietly, wrapping her arm tightly around Jane's waist and nuzzling into her neck with a sigh. "I like it here."

What she meant was that she liked it right here, in Jane's arms. Instead of clarifying, however, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Jane was warm and smelled vaguely of dust and something she couldn't really place. In her arms, Maura didn't feel so lost, didn't feel so scared.

Jane hid a smile in Maura's soft hair. She closed her eyes. The captain was reminded of that spring day as a kid when she had fallen asleep in a field of wildflowers, the warm sun beaming down on her face. Jane sighed. Being with Maura was always so simple, so easy.

"Can't really see Big Bear from here." Jane said quietly as she looked up at the sky.

"Hm?" Maura said dreamily, trying not to doze off.

"The constellation; from my home planet it's off in the western sky. Not really sure where it's at from this system." Jane said as she smiled up at the darkening sky.

"Constellation?" Maura said, sitting back and looking at Jane with a frown. "Jane, those are simply arbitrary groupings of unrelated systems of stars. There's no 'Big Bear' or 'Great Lion' or 'King Orion.'"

"Of course there is!" Jane said, almost sounding insulted.

Maura raised an eyebrow and cocked her head, looking at Jane with a dimpled smile. Jane laughed, raised her hand to the eastern sky.

"Orion's right there!" Jane said, pointing to a series of bright stars. "Look there's his belt, and that series of stars there, that's his bow and arrow."

Maura squinted comically in the vague direction that Jane was pointing. After a moment she turned to Jane with a shrug, "All I see is a mass of stars, stars that aren't even all from the same system, by the way."

"You have to use your imagination, Maur!" Jane said. "Here, lay down."

Jane had laid down on the dusty ground and was gesturing for Maura to do the same. Maura frowned at her for a moment, as if reluctant to dirty her dress anymore than she already was. But after Jane gave her an incredulous look and a good tug on her sleeve she fell begrudgingly to the ground beside the brunette.

"See?" Jane said, pointing up again as Maura settled in beside her. "Those three bright stars are his belt, follow those two to make his chest, and those three to the right are his bow."

"Yeah…" Maura murmured in agreement, but her eyes had left the sky and were on Jane's moonlit face.

Maura's heart skipped a beat as a smiled spread across Jane's lips. Jane was telling her all about the stories her and her brothers used to make up about the different things Orion would hunt, and about how her mother used to tell a story about the Old Turtle and the Rabbit—which they wouldn't be able to see until much later in the night.

The honey blond tried desperately to pay attention, but she was having trouble thinking about anything other than the way Jane held her tightly to her side and how her heart was beating loudly in her chest as she snuggled into Jane's neck. Slowly Maura slipped her hand over Jane's stomach, pulling her closer. Maura had expected for Jane to pull away or grow tense, but instead Jane simply sighed and rest her head on Maura's. And despite the chilly night air, Maura felt so very warm and comfortable.

But despite how at ease Jane was acting, in truth she was struggling just to sit still. Maura's arm around her waist and head on her shoulder were not uncomfortable, but they were causing an uncomfortable raise in her heart rate and restriction in her chest. She had suddenly grown so nervous and she tried desperately not to speculate on why.

"Maur…?" Jane whispered quietly after quite some time of uneasy silence.

"Hm?" Maura said, instinctively gripping Jane tighter in her sleepiness.

No matter how much Jane's arm was aching or she desperately wanted to escape the nervousness of the feelings swelling in her chest, she could not make herself disturb the sleeping beauty on her shoulder. So rather than suggest they move inside like she had intended, she simply placed a soft kiss on her hair and whispered almost breathlessly, "Goodnight."

"Night…" Maura mumbled softly as she buried her chilled nose into Jane's neck.

* * *

Late into the night Jane awoke. She blinked up at the sky for a while before she could remember where she was. The brunette looked down to see Maura golden hair. She was still snuggled up to her, but her head was now on her chest, her arm draped over her stomach.

Jane looked over to the fire, which was now nothing but embers. Then she realized she wasn't nearly as cold as she thought she'd be. With a smile she realized she had awoken to a blanket being placed on top of them and the culprit was none other than the shadow of her mother in the doorway in the distance. The captain smiled, for once her mother had intervened in a way that wasn't entirely unappreciated.

* * *

"I should have seen it sooner, Korsak!" Jane said irritably as she paced the floor. "I must be loosing my edge. This is the second time one of his little disciples has made it onto my ship without my knowledge!"

"That's not your fault, Jane." Korsak tried to reason with the agitated brunette. "I'm the one that goes over the crew roster. I never should have let Todd aboard without checking into him!"

Jane shook her head, "No, Korsak. I was pressuring you to find more fairs. This isn't your fault. Besides, I should have seen it in his eyes right off."

"How the hell were you supposed to know Hoyt had a son?!" Korsak said, following the captain with his eyes. She was still pacing angrily back and forth, a deep frown on her brow.

"I didn't even suspect anything!" Jane grumbled to herself furiously.

"I wish you'd be a bit easier on yourself, Jane." Korsak said softly, stepping in front of Jane and cutting off her pacing abruptly. "You've had a lot on your mind. You're only human."

"But I put everyone in danger!" she said fiercely, her voice rising with every word. "And not only that but now Doyle's caught up with Maura and we're stuck on this hunk of rock for god knows how long!"

Jane finished her little episode with a sudden and forceful punch into the wall. The brunette, of course, immediately regretted her outburst, not only for the bruises quickly forming on her knuckles, but also for the sharp pain the sudden movement caused in her abdomen.

"Jane!" Korsak said, looking startled as Jane hunched over, her hands on her wound. "Are you okay? I'll get the doc!"

"No, I'm fine. Don't bother her!" Jane called after her partner, but he had already disappeared around the corner.

No more than a minute later, Maura came rushing into the shuttle, looking worried and breathless. "What's wrong?" she said, reaching out for the brunette as she tried to straighten her stance. "What happened?!"

"Nothing." Jane lied, trying to hide a wince in an awkward smile. "I'm fine. Just a little sore."

"Maybe you should sit down." Maura said, inching towards Jane and reaching to remove her hands from her side.

"I'm sick of sitting around!" Jane yelled irritably, turning away from her. "I told you I'm fine."

Maura looked up at her with a frown, looking slightly hurt. Jane immediately regretted bringing her frustration out on Maura. She was just trying to help, even if it felt like she was just fussing over her.

"Jane!" the honey blond said, spotting Jane's hand for the first time. "What happened?"

The brunette sighed with exasperation as Maura caught her hand in her own. "It's nothing." Jane said, clenching her teeth as Maura took a cloth from her pocket and dabbed at the small amount of blood on her knuckles.

"You have quite a severe contusion on your hand Jane!" Maura said, running her fingertips over the bruise very gently. "You should be more careful!"

"I'll keep that in mind the next time I punch a wall." Jane said, pulling her hand away.

"Jane!" Maura said, following after the brunette, who seemed to be avoiding her worried gaze.

"Maura!" Jane said turning on her. "I told you I'm fine!"

Startled, Maura stopped mid step. Rather than looking hurt, like she had before, she looked at the captain firmly, her brow furrowed. "Jane, obviously you are not fine! Look at yourself. You're limping again; you're stiff and you keep holding your side. Not to mention you're irritable and being down right rude!"

Jane blinked at Maura for a few seconds, awestruck. Everything she had just said was true, but Jane hadn't even realized. To be honest, she didn't know why she was so angry. Yes, a lot of things were on her mind, but she had been in tighter spots before. It's not like she hadn't ever done something stupid and impulsive out of anger, but this seemed so unprovoked. Perhaps something else was bothering her, something she was refusing to let herself think about.

"Besides," Maura continued, her voice softer now, forgiving, "what could you possibly gain from punching a whole in my wall?"

"It's more of a dent..." Jane said sheepishly, still avoiding Maura's eyes. "Anyway, I'm sorry about that… I just… I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay…" Maura said softly, shyly. "I just wish … if something's wrong … I mean you can talk to me, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Jane said with a nod. Maura looked up at her nervously, smiling slightly. "I'm just…" Jane continued. "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Just promise me you'll find a better way to work it out than hurting yourself, okay?" Maura said, taking Jane's hand, examining it closely.

"I promise." Jane said, her eyes on Maura's concentrated expression. There was something about the focus in those hazel eyes that made Jane's lips curl into a smile and her heart to skip a beat.

"Let's get this cleaned up." Maura said, looking up at her with a smile. "And I'm taking another look at those stitches of yours. We need to make sure you heal correctly."

Maura lead her into the sleeping quarters. The shuttle was small and Maura had very few places to store her medical supplies. It turned out to be far more convenient to store them near where she cared for Jane anyway.

The doctor busied herself gathering supplies while Jane sat quietly on the edge of the bed watching her. She smiled at the concentrated look on Maura's face. The doctor was always so focused, so precise. Jane watched as the doctor went through her supplies, taking out each item she would need and neatly placing them to the side.

Once it all had been collected Maura brought the items over to the bed and knelt down in front of Jane. The brunette shivered as Maura delicately took her damaged hand in her own. Using a clean cloth and a small bottle of antiseptic she cleaned the broken skin. Next she wrapped a thin layer of gauze around her knuckles.

What happened next surprised both of them, Maura most of all. The doctor had been quite focused on her task, being extra careful because she knew Jane would pretend she wasn't in any pain, even if she was. Her mind was busying itself with random facts and suppressing the urge to share them from all the nervousness of the tension filling the room. Maura had just finished bandaging Jane's hand when one particular fact popped into her head so abruptly that she did not even have enough time to speak it before she acted upon it.

Just as she placed Jane's hand gently down on her lap, Jane winced. The protest she had made was barely audible, but Maura had noticed it. Without even thinking, Maura leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Jane's fingers.

Maura, acting instinctively on her knowledge of pain receptors versus sensory receptors, was simply attempting to temporarily relieve whatever small amount of pain she may have caused when setting down Jane's hand. Jane, however, was taken aback by the sudden affectionate gesture. Time seemed to stop as she watched her friend place a loving caress of her lips upon the bruised flesh of her knuckles. Jane's heart raced, her chest tightened and her heart swelled.

"Maur…" Jane managed to choke out.

The doctor looked up, surprised to see the captain's face was flush, her eyes wide, looking as if she was struggling to breathe. Suddenly Maura's heart seemed to stop. Her eyes went wide and she blushed even more wildly than Jane. She hadn't even thought about what Jane might think about her gesture of comfort given without explanation. Maura kept forgetting that Jane didn't know about all those little factoids she did.

"Jane!" Maura said, looking terribly embarrassed. "I was trying to… I mean …"

"Janey have you seen Maur—"

Both women turned, white faced, their eyes wide, like two deer in the headlights, to see Angela in the doorway looking just as startled. Jane quickly retracted her hand and sat back, looking at her mother with a mortified expression. Maura, who was still kneeling in front of Jane, quickly tried to stand up, but only managed to tumble back into a sitting position.

"Oh!" Angela said, blushing and looking away awkwardly. "I'm sorry… I didn't know I was interrupting something..."

"No!" they said in unison.

"You weren't interrupting anything." Jane said, looking at her mother with a stern expression.

"I was just taking a look at Jane's injured hand." Maura tried to explain.

"Okay." Angela said, tossing her hands up into the air. "Whatever you say."

Angela turned to leave but the doctor called after her, "Were you looking for me Angela?"

Ma Rizzoli waved her hand idly, "It's not important. You two just get back to … whatever it was you were doing. I think I'll just … head over to the other shuttle for a while."

"Ma!" Jane said with exasperation as her mother quickly exited the room. Maura caught her gaze just as she finished an exaggerated eye roll. "What was that about?"

"I think she thought that we were—" Maura started.

"I know what she _thought!_" Jane interrupted quite suddenly. "Why she would think something like that beats me."

"Oh…" Maura said quietly, her gaze falling. Jane sounded so completely opposed to even the idea, it was hard for the honey blond to not feel just a little bit hurt.

"You don't …?" Jane said, her mouth suddenly feeling very dry. "You don't want to … I mean … you don't want to sleep with me … do you?"

"No!" Maura reacted instinctively, her tone very exaggerated.

"Oh…" Jane said, not quite able to hide her disappointment. "Good."

_Did I just lie to her?_ Maura thought to herself as she stood up, looking about awkwardly. _Of course I don't want to sleep with her! I mean we sleep in the same bed every night. At least she sleeps. All I do is lie awake and think about her, about what it'd be like to—but I don't want that! No, we're just—_

"Maura?" Jane said, sounding concerned. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Maura said, feeling very lightheaded.

"Are those… are those hives?" Jane said, pointing to Maura's neck.

"Oh goodness!" Maura said, her heart rate and breathing quickening.

"Do you need to sit down?" Jane said, pulling the doctor down to sit next to her. "Breathe, okay? Just breathe."

"I'll be…" Maura said, desperately trying to calm herself. "I'll be fine… I just need … some rest."

"Why don't you lie down?" Jane suggested, patting on the bed.

"Okay…" Maura said after a few moments, her breathing finally coming back to normal and her skin finally returning to its usual color.

Jane pulled the blanket over her friend and looked down at her with a curious frown. In all the time she had known Maura, she had never been able to bend the truth, no less lie, without becoming extremely upset. She didn't even like telling "white lies" like telling someone the meal they prepared was delicious when it really wasn't.

Had Maura just lied to her? Is that why she started panicking and getting hives? But if she had lied that meant that she _did _want to sleep with her. Jane gulped. She didn't know if she could handle that. Things with Maura were so wonderful the way they were. She didn't want to risk their friendship for anything. Besides, she was probably just having a delayed reaction to the whole Angela walking in on them thing. Yeah, that was it. Totally.

* * *

"Frost, I need your help." Jane said, clapping him on the shoulder.

The young man jumped a little. He had been dozing in the sun for quite some time and looked up at the captain blinkingly. After a moment a smile spread across his face.

"It's not often you admit that, Jane." He said, stretching. "Must be serious."

"It has to do with Maura." Jane said with her frown, her eyes focused off in the distance.

Suddenly her partner looked uneasy. "Look if you need relationship advice or whatever you should already know I'm not really good at that type of—"

"Relationship advice?! Frost what are you talking about?" Jane said, looking down at him completely lost.

"Oh!" Frost said backtracking quickly. "I just thought… well you're Ma she …"

"What the hell did my mother tell you?!" Jane said, looking wrathful.

"Nothing really." Frost said, stepping back and waving his hands in defense. "Forget I said anything!"

"I'm going to kill her, I swear." Jane said rolling her eyes and tossing her head back in exasperation, taking a deep, calming breath.

Frost was silent for a moment, looking awkward. He scratched his head nervously. "So…" he finally said, "… you needed help with something?"

"Yes!" Jane said with a final sigh. "I need help looking into Maura's past. I was hoping you could get access to her records. I need to find out how Doyle is connected to her."

"Maybe, but it could take me a while." Frost said, looking at her curiously. "What about just asking her?"

"There's a lot she's not sure about." Jane said, a frown indicating she was lost in thought. "She doesn't have a lot of contact with her family."

"Wouldn't it be easier to have Maura access her own records?" Frost suggested, studying his partner's face for the part she was obviously leaving out.

"No," Jane said, not looking at her partner, "last time she accessed the system, it lead Doyle right to us."

"What is it Jane?" Frost questioned, "What's on your mind?"

"What makes you think I have something on my mind?" Jane said innocently.

"Because you've got that 'I got a gut feeling' look on your face." Frost said with a laugh.

Jane smirked at him, "I thought only Korsak could spot that look."

Frost shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I've picked up a few tricks from the old fella."

"Don't let Korsak hear you calling him that." Jane laughed.

"Calling me what?" Korsak said, appearing behind Jane, wiping his brow and heaving a sigh. "Frost, you're break is up. Get your ass over there and start helping out!"

"Sure thing, old fella!" Frost said with a smile before dashing off.

"What did he just call me?!" Korsak said, looking positively insulted.

Jane couldn't help but laugh. "It's nice to see you two warming up to each other."

"I would hardly call it that." Korsak said, turning up his nose.

"How's the work coming?" Jane said, watching as Angela brought out lemonade to the boys, who gladly halted their digging efforts and accepted their mother's reward with bright smiles.

"Faster than I thought." Korsak said waving politely at Angela, who was flashing a smile their way. "Frost's actually been working his ass off, but the heat's getting to all of us."

"Tommy's not giving you too much trouble, huh?" Jane said, eyeing her youngest brother curiously.

"Nah." Korsak said, almost sounding surprised. "He's actually managed to stay fairly on task. Has crazy ideas about remodeling Serenity though."

"What?!" Jane laughed.

Korsak rolled his eyes. "Says we can make her _sleeker and faster than ever before_ or some nonsense."

"At least he's not causing any trouble." Jane observed quietly.

Her old partner nudged her gently. "You really should give him more credit. He is a Rizzoli after all, he'll buck up."

"If it weren't for me and Ma he'd never have gotten the chance." Jane observed quietly.

"I know you're conflicted about picking him up when you did, but an Alliance prison really isn't the place for him. He's just a kid." Korsak said as they walked towards the ship.

"I know…" she said with a sigh. "I guess I just feel like he never really had to pay for what he did. I know we're not exactly on the right side of the law, but we've never hurt anyone that didn't deserve it."

"You know he didn't mean to." Korsak said in a hushed voice as they came within earshot of Angela.

"I know." Jane said, trying to smile in a way that would rid her mother of her concerned expression.

"Janey," Angela said, offering her a lemonade, "you promised you wouldn't work until your stitches healed."

"I never promised anything, Ma." Jane said, sipping the bitter drink with a grimace. "Besides, I'm not here to work. I just wanted to see how things were coming."

Angela shot her a look, whether about her comment or her decision to spit lukewarm liquid back into the glass Jane could not tell. After a moment she sighed and looked over at her sons, who were sitting in the shade provided by Serenity's unburied hull. Frost and the boys were eagerly drinking up the last drops of her lemonade.

"My little Tommy's been working so hard." Angela said with a proud smile. "And Frankie, too. I'm so proud of my boys!"

"_Little Tommy?_" Jane said with a raised brow.

Angela ignored her daughter's comment and turned to Korsak. "How is it?" she said, gesturing to the barely touched glass in Korsak's hand.

"It's … lovely." Korsak said, forcing himself to take another sip. "Thank you."

"Ma," Jane said after a moment, grasping her mother by the elbow and pulling her away, "I need to talk to you!"

"What?!" Angela said, pulling out of Jane's grasp irritably.

"What have you been telling Frost?" Jane said in a peeved whisper.

"What have I been telling Barry about what?" Angela said, shrugging innocently.

Jane was fairly sure her mother knew what she was talking about, but she didn't want to play the denial game. "You told him something after you…after you … well you obviously implied something that never happened." She said, trying not to blush.

_Why are you getting embarrassed? Nothing happened!_ Jane thought to herself as she avoided her mother's curious gaze.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Angela said simply.

Jane rolled her eyes again. "Ma! Let's not play this game, okay? I know what you thought you saw, but nothing happened! Maura was just… she was just bandaging my hand."

Angela raised an eyebrow and looked at her daughter with disbelief. For a moment Jane could have sworn her mother was going to call her bluff, but then she sighed and smiled at her almost sorrowfully.

"Okay, honey." Angela said with a nod and a soft, understanding smile. "If you say so."

Jane looked at her with an annoyed and suspicious expression but decided to let the subject go. Instead, she decided to get to the reason she had come out to the site in the first place.

"Have you seen Maura around anywhere?" Jane said, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"She went into town a couple hours ago." Angela said with a nod. "The hospital sent word for her again, apparently their staff is really stretched thin."

"Good." Jane said with small nod. "She'll enjoy it there…"

"Any particular reason you're looking for her?" Angela inquired with a subtle raise of her eyebrow.

Jane narrowed her eyes. She could tell Angela was trying to imply something, but Jane opted to ignore it. "No." She said with a shrug. "I was just curious to see what she was up to."

If Jane were to be honest with herself, the real reason she was keeping tabs on Maura was because she was doing her best to avoid her. It had only been a couple days since the _incident_ as she thought of it, but she felt like the awkwardness of that moment should have faded by now. However, every time Maura was near she started welling up with conflicting emotions. Her heart would race wildly in her chest and her mind would spin with endless questions. Had Maura lied to her? Was she actually attracted to her? Why did it matter so much if she did? If she did want to sleep with her, why would she lie about it? Was Maura lying about anything else? What about Paddy Doyle? Did Maura know what Jane could only suspect? Or was she really oblivious to the details of her past? If Maura didn't know, should she tell her? Or should she wait until she knew for sure?

Jane's troubled line of thought was abruptly interrupted by a clap on her shoulder. "Hey Sis!" Tommy said enthusiastically, a bright smile on his face. "How ya feelin'?"

"Okay I guess." Jane said, shrugging absentmindedly. She had only half heard her brother, her eyes on the horizon where she recognized a familiar figure riding their way. "I gotta go."

"What? Already?" Tommy said, frowning after her.

Jane hurriedly made her way back to the shuttle, heading in the opposite direction that the Serenity crew was now looking. She wasn't sure why she was running, but all she knew is she better figure it out soon before things got out of hand. It wasn't easy work avoiding her best friend, especially when they were living together.

* * *

Maura had finally finished a long shift at the hospital only to have to ride an hour on horseback out into the desert just to get home. By the time she had nearly reached the camp, she was having a hard time staying awake. A couple times she nearly slumped over, coming dangerously close to slipping out of the saddle. But once Serenity was in her sights, and it's crew came into focus, she perked up, knowing soon she would be with her friends; she could relax and enjoy a cool drink.

However, when she was almost within shouting distance—and could make out Jane's tall, slender figure—she was disappointed to see that the brunette was headed off in the opposite direction. Maura was fairly sure that Jane had noticed her riding in, so she wondered why she did not bother to wait and greet her. The doctor's heart sank.

Ever since the other day, things had seemed strange between the two of them. Jane was quiet and complacent. When Maura had checked on how her wound was healing the brunette simply sat there motionless, instead of complaining that Maura was fussing over her.

Maura had hoped that Jane's awkwardness would subside, but it only seemed to get worse. She had barely seen any of Jane in two days, though she tried. She was gone when Maura woke up, and ran off whenever the doctor returned from town. The only time Maura ever saw her was late at night, when Jane finally crawled into the cot on the other side of the room.

When they had first moved into the shuttle, Maura had offered the bed to Jane, claiming that she would be more than comfortable taking the cot. But Jane had refused, claiming that she couldn't possibly sleep on something as "fluffy and frilly" as Maura's four-poster bed. On the second night, however, Maura and Jane had fallen asleep laying on her bed talking. Actually, it was Jane who had fallen asleep first, her head just inches from Maura's shoulder. The honey blond had spent nearly half an hour watching the brunette softly snore before she too, drifted off. They ended up sleeping next to each other every night after that. That was, until two nights ago.

Maura had thought nothing of it at the time. The kiss had simply been Maura's instinct to relieve her friend's pain. But with Jane's reaction, she was starting to second-guess her true intentions. Had the gesture been simply one of comfort? Or had she subconsciously desired to show Jane a greater sign of admiration?

Maura just wished she could talk to her friend about it. Talking to Jane always made her feel better. But the captain was clearly avoiding her. Obviously Maura had crossed some line she wasn't privy to. And as the doctor rode back to her shuttle that evening, she was cursing herself for being so foolish.

"Hello Angela!" Maura said, waving at the eldest Rizzoli as she came closer to the camp.

"How are you?" Angela said with a happy look in her eyes, the same look she had anytime one of her children came home safe. "You look thirsty! Here, have some lemonade."

Maura dismounted, dusted off her riding dress and smiled warmly, "Thank you, I am quite dehydrated!"

Maura accepted the glass and drank eagerly. She drained the glass rather quickly, her dry mouth barely registering its bitter taste. With a polite nod she set down the glass and took a deep breath.

"Long day? Why don't you sit down?" Angela said, indicating a set of chairs sitting in the shade where the boys were still enjoying their break.

"Yes, thank you!" Maura said, almost collapsing into the seat beside Ma Rizzoli.

"Hello Maura." Frost, Frankie and Tommy all said, nearly at once.

"They must be working you like a dog up at that place!" Tommy commented before Maura could respond.

"A canine could hardly perform the duties of a doctor, Tommy." Maura said with a little confused frown.

"No, it's an expression." Korsak said with a snort at the bewildered expression on Tommy's face.

Frankie laughed and nudged his brother teasingly, "You'll have to forgive my little brother, Maura. The heat's gotten to what's left of his brain."

Tommy was about to protest when Maura spoke with utter seriousness, "It's very important to drink plenty of fluids, Tommy. You wouldn't want to suffer from heat stroke."

"I might if you're the doc treatin' me." Tommy observed with a smirk.

Maura blushed lightly and looked lost. This was the part where Jane normally chimed in to tell her brother to stop being so shameless and leave the doctor alone, but the brunette was strangely absent from their little family gathering.

"Where did Jane head off to?" Maura said after an awkward moment of silence.

"Not sure." Korsak said with a shrug.

"Janie's been awful distant lately." Angela said quietly, looking kind of anxious.

"And quiet." Frankie added with a frown.

"Did something happen between you two?" Korsak cautiously asked, studying the nervous look on Maura's face.

Maura blushed wildly. She started to fidget with the buttons on her riding jacket, avoiding eye contact. She felt cornered and guilty but she wasn't entirely sure why. Nothing really happened, right? It was just a silly misunderstanding.

But then her mind's eye returned to that moment. She recalled the rough callouses of Jane's fingers upon hers, the soft warmth of the top of her hand, the way she had let her lips linger ever so briefly on the puckered scare tissue. She could feel the way her heart fluttered when she could feel Jane trembling under her kiss. She recalled the way the brunette had quietly inhaled a shocked breath, how she had whispered her name breathlessly.

"No—I—we…um…" Maura stuttered, "Excuse me!" With that, Maura stood up very suddenly, excusing herself awkwardly.

The doctor briskly retreated to her shuttle, trying to even her breathing, feeling hives spreading across her neck. Reaching her room, she decided that a new change of clothes might make her feel better. She slowly started to undress. Looking herself in the mirror, she wondered why she had gotten so flustered.

"Nothing happened, right?" she whispered to herself, taking a deep breath as she ran her fingers through her long golden hair. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"_You don't want to sleep with me … do you?" Jane had asked._

"_No!" Maura had said in a drawn out tone, refusing to let herself believe anything different._

Maura had only ever spoken like that once before, the evening when she was eight when she told her tutor she finished her homework when she hadn't. That time she had collapsed almost immediately. This time she was having panic attacks whenever she thought about it. Obviously she needed to talk to Jane about it before the guilt consumed her completely.

"_Oh." Jane had replied quietly. "Good."_

Clearly Jane was relieved when Maura denied her attraction to her. Perhaps she should leave it alone after all. Bringing it up would force Maura to expose her true feelings. But what were her true feelings? If saying she didn't want to sleep with her was a lie, then what was the truth?

Maura gulped, examining her face in the mirror. _What are you so afraid of?_ Maura thought to herself. Her fingers slowly moved down her face to her dimples. She gave a small smile as she recalled the way her heart raced when she was in Jane's arms. _No one has ever made me feel the way she does. _She thought as her smile slowly grew.

"Oh!" came a startled voice from the doorway. "Sorry!"

Maura jumped, clutching her chest. She looked over to see a blushing Jane standing in the doorway, her face turned. The doctor flushed wildly as she realized she was standing nearly naked in the middle of the room. She had meant to change into something new but had got caught up in her thoughts.

"Oh goodness!" Maura said turning her back to the brunette and clutching a blouse to her chest. "I was just about to change."

"I'm sorry… I should have—I should have knocked." Jane said awkwardly, trying to shake the images of Maura's bare stomach from her mind. She cursed herself for not being more mindful of Maura's space. The last thing she needed was more uncomfortable situations like this.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed." Maura stated matter-of-factly, as much to herself as to Jane, quickly putting on a new blouse and pair of slacks. "It's not like I haven't seen you half-dressed nearly every morning."

"I know it's just… I'm sorry…" Jane mumbled, her mouth going dry as the image of Maura's muscular body passed through her mind again. "I would have knocked … I just thought you were still outside with Ma and the others."

"Jane I'm sorry." Maura said pleadingly to the brunette, who was still turned away, not wishing the honey blond to see her flushed face.

"Sorry?" Jane said, turning to frown at a now fully clothed Maura, "Why should you be sorry? I'm the one that barged in on you."

"No." Maura said quietly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry for the other day."

Jane could not hide the flush in her face now, but she tried to shake it off. "That's not your fault." Jane said, avoiding Maura's gaze. "You can't help that my mother likes to gossip."

"What are you talking about?" Maura said, looking puzzled. She had meant to apologize for her rash behavior, and hopefully explain to Jane that she hadn't meant to lie to her about what it meant, but Jane seemed to be upset about something else.

"Ma." Jane said simply, looking irritated. "She's been telling people that we're together."

"What?" Maura said, feeling hurt. That was twice now that Jane seemed disgusted by the idea of the two of them as a couple. Perhaps Maura should keep her feelings to herself, Jane might get more upset if Maura admitted her attraction.

"Can you believe that?" Jane said nervously, peeking at Maura out of the corner of her eye, trying to gauge her reaction.

Maura looked upset, maybe even angry. Jane frowned. That wasn't the reaction she was expecting. She had anticipated surprise or maybe even humor, but not irritation. Jane gulped. Maybe Maura hadn't been lying after all. Maybe she thought the idea was as ridiculous as Jane had pretended it was.

"I know what my mother saw was" Jane kept speaking out of nervousness, though her brain kept screaming for her to stop "… well out of context it was—I mean. I can see how she could have misunderstood … but why would she think something like that was going on? It's absurd!"

"Absurd?!" Maura said, tears welling her eyes. "Am I really that undesirable that the thought of being with me is completely absurd?!"

"Maura, I—" Jane stammered, her jaw dropping and her eyes growing wide. She had absolutely no idea why Maura was crying, nothing about her previous composure indicated she was anything more than insulted. It didn't even register with her _why_ Maura was insulted.

"Do I disgust you so much that you are affronted by the very idea of the two of us in a relationship?!" Maura shouted at her, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Of course not!" Jane yelled back, though she knew no reason why they had escalated to shouting at each other. "There's nothing wrong with you Maura! I just—"

"Then what is it?!" Maura hollered. "Why have you been avoiding me? Why don't you talk to me? Why do you act so insulted when your mother insinuates anything beyond friendship between us?!"

Jane's heart was pounding wildly in her chest. Her breathing had quickened as their argument quickly spiraled into madness. She was finding it hard to think about anything else other than the lips her eyes kept darting to.

"Don't you know?!" Jane shouted, her mouth working faster than her brain. "It's not the idea of us being together that's insulting! It's the idea that I would keep it a secret!

"If we were together there would be no rumors! No, the whole god damn 'Verse would be hearing about it! I'd be shouting it from the fucking roof-tops!"

Maura was shell-shocked. She stood with her mouth agape and her hazel eyes wide. She forgot how to breathe. She blinked at Jane as the tears finally stopped trickling down her face.

"You…?" Maura barely managed to mutter.

"If I had someone like you, Maura, I'd be showing her off! I'd be telling the whole world how lucky I am that a beautiful, intelligent, fascinating, talented woman like you is even giving me the time of day." Jane said, finishing out of breath, having plunged through her little speech with increasing consciousness of just how much she was putting out on the line.

"You would?" Maura said in a small, frightened voice.

Jane simply nodded. She had no more words left to speak. Fearful that she would dig herself deeper into a hole she could never climb out of, she vowed never to open her mouth again. But her promise was quickly broken as Maura closed the distance between them and cautiously pressed her lips against Jane's.

Her lips were soft and warm. Jane closed her eyes as an overwhelming sense of joy washed over her. She let her hands slip around Maura's back, feeling Maura shiver as she did so.

The brunette opened her eyes as the doctor stepped back. She looked down into shimmering hazel eyes with wonder. Maura opened her eyes a moment later, having taken a second to store away the memory of Jane's sweet taste. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she looked up at Jane, hoping she would see a smile on her tanned face. She had felt the Jane kiss back, but still she worried that it had only been a trick her mind played on her.

Two prominent dimples and a faint blush in Jane's cheeks told her that she had not imagined what had just happened. Maura smiled up at coffee brown eyes. She felt as if her heart was swelling in her chest as Jane looked lovingly down at her.

"The whole 'Verse?" Maura questioned, still seeming nervous.

Again Jane did not speak. Instead she slowly nodded, keeping her gaze with Maura's, as if to add to the sincerity of what she left unsaid. Maura's heart leapt in her chest.

"Really?" Maura said, pulling Jane close.

"Really." Jane assured her, pressing her lips softly to Maura's again.

[To Be Continued]

* * *

**Yes there will be more. There is a lot left to resolve in this story. But with the giant gap between this post and my last, I didn't want to leave you with another cliffhanger. I am devoting time every day to my writing now, so chapters should come more often, but please be aware that I am working on original works as well, and I do have a day job that takes up a lot of my time. Please forgive me if updates don't come as quickly as you'd like.**


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